Monday gossip

Chelsea are preparing to smash the British transfer record with a £50m offer for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has targeted Newcastle forward Andy Carroll as a replacement for Torres and is prepared to spend £30m to lure the 22-year-old to Anfield.

The Merseysiders will only allow Torres to join Chelsea if they can secure the services of Nicolas Anelka in return.

As they prepare for life without Torres, Liverpool are ready to make an £18m swoop for Aston Villa's Ashley Young - as well as finalising the transfers of Ajax striker Luis Suarez and Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam.

Tottenham have had a £38.5m bid for Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero rejected.

Villarreal have rebuffed Tottenham's advances for former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi. The north London side have had a £30m bid rejected.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has also been denied in his attempts to sign Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Llorente for £33m.

Redknapp may turn his attention to £16m-rated Bayern Munich frontman Mario Gomez.

Spurs are putting together a final-day bid to prise Everton captain Phil Neville away from Goodison Park.

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has confirmed that the Spanish champions are interested in Tottenham's left-sided player Gareth Bale. The Welsh international is also being monitored by Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Manchester United have emerged as favourites to sign Sunderland's emerging England international Jordan Henderson.

Chelsea are preparing to upset Liverpool further by swooping for Reds target Dimitri Payet. The 23-year-old winger plays for French side St Etienne.

Tottenham have set their sights on West Ham midfielder Scott Parker after striker Robbie Keane agreed a loan deal to Upton Park.

Fulham are lining up Brazil-born striker Amauri, who plays for Juventus, in a move worth about £8.5m.

Birmingham hope to complete a loan deal for former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins, who is currently playing for Russian club Rubin Kazan.

Midfielder Steven Ireland, who has found himself our of favour at Aston Villa, will seal a loan move to Newcastle, with a view to completing a permanent deal in the summer.

Striker Tuncay has been offered a way out of Stoke, with Wolfsburg, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, offering £4m for his services.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that an injury to winger Adam Johnson may force his hand on the final day of the transfer window.

Leicester are preparing to approach Everton with a proposal to sign out-of-favour Toffees midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov on loan.

Foxes boss Sven Goran Eriksson is also interested in a temporary deal for Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given. (Daily Mirror)

Blackpool are preparing for the possibility of captain Charlie Adam heading to Liverpool by planning a bid for Sunderland midfielder Andy Reid.

Chelsea will loan striker Daniel Sturridge to Bolton for the rest of the season. (Daily Mirror)

West Brom are on the brink of agreeing a deal for Monaco's Togolese forward Serge Gakpe. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea are taking a "huge gamble" on Fernando Torres, says former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore.

Former Manchester United number two Carlos Queiroz has reportedly agreed to take over as manager of Brazilian club Vasco da Gama.

Arsenal's Samir Nasri is a doubt for the first leg of the Gunners' Champions League clash with Barcelona on 16 February after injurying his hamstring against Huddersfield in the FA Cup.

In what may be his final day at Liverpool's training ground Melwood ahead of a proposed move to Chelsea, striker Fernando Torres trained alone.

Notts County manager Paul Ince has claimed that Manchester City counterpart Roberto Mancini rejected his invitation to share a bottle of red wine after their teams drew 1-1 in the FA Cup fourth round.

Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle says he was more nervous about appearing on the BBC's Question Time programme than marking Wayne Rooney.