TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United's hopes of re-signing central defender Nemanja Vidic, 33, from Inter Milan have been given a boost by his agent. (Daily Star) 

Barcelona defender Dani Alves, 31, has agreed a three-year deal with Paris St-Germain worth more than £100,000 a week and will join the club on a free transfer this summer. (Marca) 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is hoping to turn his side into Premier League title contenders by signing Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 25, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, and Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic, 26. (Daily Mirror) 

Arsenal have also been given fresh hope of signing Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, after he confirmed he is not just considering a move to Schalke. (Metro) 

Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic, 25, is a £12m target for Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan with City facing a £10m loss having signed him in 2013. (Daily Mirror) 

QPR striker Charlie Austin, 25, is wanted by Crystal Palace and Southampton should the Hoops be relegated from the Premier League. (Daily Mail) 

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, 21, says he is just concentrating on his football despite being linked to Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. (Daily Star) 

Germany forward Lukas Podolski, 29, has not ruled out returning to Arsenal once his loan spell at Inter Milan has come to an end. (Guardian) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini would consider a move to replace Rafael Benitez at Napoli if he does not survive at the Etihad, according to his agent. (Daily Express) 

Real Madrid should stick with manager Carlo Ancelotti despite their poor form, says former Real president Ramon Calderon. (Talksport) 

Manchester City strongly deny that skipper Vincent Kompany, 28, and midfielder Fernandinho, 29, were dropped for the Premier League game against Leicester following a bust-up during their defeat at Liverpool. (Daily Mail) 

Everton manager Roberto Martinez says he takes responsibility for their "unacceptable" Premier League form. (Times - subscription required) 

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney took to Twitter   to salute 10-man Paris St-Germain's aggregate Champions League victory over Chelsea. He said: "That is one of the best performances I've ever seen with 10 men from PSG."

Liverpool defender Jose Enrique also tweeted a picture  of the Chelsea players surrounding the referee as PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic challenged Oscar and was sent off. Enrique wrote: "Says it all."

AND FINALLY....

At a time when Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has been derided for his "philosophy", perhaps he would like to order a copy of a new book released by former boss Sir Alex Ferguson this October? The book on leadership is set to reveal "the key tools he used to deliver sustained success on and off the field". (Manchester Evening News) 

It turns out everyone has been saying Liverpool new-boy Emre Can's name wrong, as the correct Turkish pronunciation actually means that his name should sound like 'Emre Jun' . (Turkish-football.com)  

Manchester United players got over their FA Cup exit to Arsenal by enjoying a day at the races at Cheltenham. (Daily Mail)