TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are willing to offload Juan Mata for £20m, with Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Valencia all interested. (Daily Express) 

Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 25, has reiterated his desire to play for a "big club", with Arsenal set to renew their interest in the France international. (Daily Mirror) 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has earmarked 20-year-old Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte as his first-choice January transfer target. (Daily Star) 

Manchester United see the signing of former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, 32, as a replacement for David de Gea, not a back-up, with De Gea set to join Real Madrid.(Independent) 

Tottenham are planning a January transfer swoop for Aston Villa's England midfielder Fabian Delph, 24, who is nearing the end of his contract at Villa Park. (Daily Mirror) 

Croatia captain Darijo Srna has advised his international team-mate Mateo Kovacic to quit Inter Milan for the good of his career. The 20-year-old midfielder has previously interested Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid. (InsideFutbol.com) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is attempting to bring Southampton's head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, who worked with manager Mauricio Pochettino last season, to White Hart Lane.(Daily Mail) 

Barcelona legend Xavi says Everton's Ross Barkley and Liverpool's Raheem Sterling are good enough to play for the Spanish giants.(Daily Express) 

Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao appears to have denied reports he is treating his knee with an ice pack after every match and training session.(Independent) 

Former Ipswich Town players Kieron Dyer and Titus Bramble - now youth coaches at the club - say they would not want to be shortlisted for jobs if the Football Association implement the "Rooney Rule" for black and minority ethnic coaches. (Daily Telegraph) 

Swansea City winger Jefferson Montero says the best is yet to come after he gave a dazzling display in their 2-1 victory over Arsenal. (WalesOnline)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

West Ham defender Dan Potts took advantage of the Argentina squad training in east London before their friendly against Croatia on Wednesday to grab a selfie with Lionel Messi, which he shared on Twitter. 

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor apologised to supporters in a series of tweets for newspaper reports which appeared to show him criticising them for a lack of support.

Chelsea defender Felipe Luis shared a picture on Twitter  showing himself alongside Brazil team-mates Neymar, Oscar and Willian.

AND FINALLY

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has outshone his team-mates with his keepy-uppy skills in a promotional video, putting some of his outfield colleagues to shame. (Daily Mirror)