Tuesday gossip

Football's real characters aren't as thick on the ground as you might believe, so when one of the genuine ones emerges blinking from temporary shadows, it's definitely story time.
The Guardian's Andy Hunter, a man with a myriad Merseyside contacts, is on Craig Bellamy alert and runs a tale that City's feisty out-of-favour striker could be back in red soon.

He reports that "Liverpool have moved ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City in pursuit of the towering young Uruguay defender Sebastián Coates ..." yes, yes, get to it, Andy "... and are ready to offer Craig Bellamy a sensational return to Anfield".

Aha. The Guardian man adds: "Bellamy's wage has surprisingly not deterred several Premier League clubs and Celtic from trying to prise the 32-year-old from the Etihad Stadium but Liverpool are willing to offer the striker a lucrative contract providing no transfer fee is involved."

Ah, there's the catch maybe ...

Anyway, he presses on: "Bellamy, a boyhood Liverpool fan, spent one season at Anfield in 2006-07 but struggled to make an impact under Rafael Benítez and was sold to West Ham United for £7.5m after 27 appearances and seven goals.

"He was an unused substitute in the 2007 Champions League final defeat by Milan and was destined for the Anfield exit from the moment he attacked his then team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club during a supposed team bonding exercise in Portugal."

Andy! Bellers was hoping everyone had forgotten about that misunderstanding ...

As for Senor Coates, "the 20-year-old centre-half was named best young player at this summer's Copa América, where his performances for the tournament winners Uruguay – in the same team as Liverpool's Luis Suárez – increased interest from several Premier League clubs."

The Telegraph's Mark Ogden remains doggedly on the Samir Nasri case. While others have sloped off in search of other tales, Oggy says Arsene Wenger is set "to defy" Roberto Mancini and pick Nasri for the Champions League tie at Udinese.

He writes: "Although a fee has been agreed between the two clubs for the 24 year-old, with personal terms also finalised, City have yet to come to a financial agreement with the player’s representatives over their involvement in the transfer.

"But with Arsenal facing the possibility of missing out on the lucrative group stages should their 1-0 first-leg lead be overturned — the club banked £26 million in prize money by reaching the last 16 of last season’s competition — Wenger is understood to have told club officials he is prepared to select him in order to boost his team’s prospects of reaching the group stage."

Hmm. Finally, the Mail carries one of those intriguing snippets: "City have made an enquiry for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker but the proposal has been rejected because it is said to have involved players including Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips rather than cash."

SWP and Bridge wouldn't have gone to WHU (i presume in exchange) anyway? Always a non-starter that.

Wasnt bridge there last season from xmas? SWP seems Bolton bound except for....you guessed his refusal to compromise on wages. Now were did we hear that before.

i think we will compromise on the transfer fee with bolton to make this happen. SWP is worth a lot more than £2M

Yeah but WH were in the Prem then.....although they're at his standard now so he might not look out of his depth there.

SWP (apparently) has held talks with 3 or 4 different PL clubs now, i can't for 1 minute think he'd drop down to the Championship. I really hope he doesn't opt for Wanky as they are of Championship stature too, i think he's better than that.

I know he looks Bolton bound but heres the thing.

We all have been fed a diet of stuff by his dad about City etc but I think its a mark of respect that Mancini has for SWP that Lazio, one of mancinis former clubs, have been looking at taking him.

Personally I think that shows that for players who mancini respects he will try and get them the best deal possible.

Personaly for SWP's sake I hope he goes to Lazio

I read that DeJong has refused the latest contract offer....

Personally, he's the best defensive mid in the prem, and invaluable to us, give him what he wants Cooke!

i hope that SWP goes to PSG as he'll get the gametime he wants and deserves and I can go and watch him play!

Do you live in Paris Dawg? It'd be a damn sight cheaper to go and watch him at Wanky.

aye shaken, we moved near paris last year and i'd like a good reason to go watch a PSG game.

Now both my 'local' clubs are loaded I should be seeing some more match ups soon.

Nice one mate, i hope he goes to PSG for you then.

it would be great to be sat/stood amongst those parisians shouting shawny wright wright wright!

I've got mixed feelings... I think he'd be better off somewhere like PSG as they've at least got pretensions of being a top side. But if he were at Wanky, at least we'd see him twice a season and we could welcome him to Eastlands. Sorry, the Etihad. Must remember that.

Either way, I'd like him to get games and at least Capello won't forget he exists.