GALLAS GOSSIP
With skipper William Gallas stripped of Arsenal's captain's armband following his midweek criticism of his Gunners team-mates, left-back Gael Clichy will lead the side against Manchester City on Saturday. (Daily Telegraph)
Actually, Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia will captain the side, and in any case the captaincy would have gone to Kolo Toure, had he been fit, or Cesc Fabregas, had he not been suspended. (Times)
Gallas, who has previously said he would like to return to France one day, could find manager Arsene Wenger hastening his departure back across the English Channel come January's transfer window. (Daily Telegraph)
That's fine by Gallas, who refused to travel with the team on Friday and has threatened to quit football for good. (Daily Star)
No, Gallas was told not to travel with the team by Wenger, who ordered him to stay at home for the game. (Sun)
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester City's first big-money buy of the January transfer window will be a world-record £50m swoop for Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, despite the Italian club's insistence that the 30-year-old is going nowhere. (Times)
City defender Micah Richards says the entire Eastlands playing squad worries about what will happen to them once Mark Hughes has the chance to open his chequebook in January. (Daily Express)
Richards has good reason to worry, with Hughes intending to sign Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, then bring former Blackburn colleague Roque Santa Cruz to the blue half of Manchester for £15m. Meanwhile, their bid for Buffon could go up to £63m. (Guardian)
Not wanting to be left out of the Manchester-based spending spree, Manchester United have been linked with Serbia's £8m-rated midfielder Zoran Tosic. But the club need to convince the Home Office he is a regular for the national side, having only played six of his national side's last 14 games. (Guardian)
United's scouts in Serbia have been working overtime, because the club are chasing a second Partizan Belgrade star, Adam Ljajic - at 17 years old dubbed "the new Kaka". (Daily Mirror)
West Brom boss Tony Mowbray has been told he will have to sell before he can buy in the winter window, with Luke Moore and Craig Beattie likely to be shown the door. (Daily Star)
Blackburn are closing in on a £3.5m move for Austrian striker Marc Janko. (Daily Mirror)
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OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he would be "concerned" if the Football Association went ahead with plans to start next season early, to give Fabio Capello more time with his England squad ahead of the 2010 World Cup. (Various)
Ferguson's Liverpool counterpart Rafael Benitez also wants words with the FA and Capello, insisting he deserves an apology for the way Steven Gerrard's withdrawal from the England squad was handled. (Various)
Luiz Felipe Scolari wants his Chelsea team to rack up 97 points to make absolutely sure of winning the Premier League title. (Daily Mirror)
Paul Ince is ready to hand former Blackburn hero Matt Jansen a comeback after he spent two weeks training with the club, despite having apparently retired 18 months ago. (Sun)
Former Chelsea defender Albert Ferrer is looking to start his managerial career in England - preferably in the Championship, but he will "consider the lower divisions". (Times)
But Harry Redknapp, newly installed at Tottenham, wants to see more home-grown managers given a chance in the lower echelons of English football. (Independent)
AND FINALLY
Manchester City's Stephen Ireland insists he never told anybody that his grandmother had died, following last season's infamous Grannygate scandal while on duty with the Republic of Ireland. (Daily Telegraph)
The Premier League will discipline players indulging in what they term the "inappropriate PR stunt" of a major betting firm offering cash to players who perform their martial arts-style goal celebration. (Daily Telegraph)
Argentina coach Diego Maradona does not expect Scotland to qualify for the World Cup finals on the evidence of his side's midweek friendly victory. (Daily Record)
Fifa has ordered Livingston to pay Blackburn £43,000 for the sale of David McNamee to Coventry two years ago. (Daily Record)
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