Paper Talk - 21 December 2011

• Liverpool have reacted furiously to the eight-match ban given to Luis Suarez after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra and have accused the FA of a stitch-up.


• Bolton defender Gary Cahill is set to move to Chelsea next month after a £7m fee was agreed.


• Manchester City left-back Wayne Bridge could move to Arsenal after being told he is no longer wanted.


• Blackburn's owners are bidding to bring back Mark Hughes as manager - and tempt him with a massive bonus to keep Rovers in the Premier League.


• Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa will battle it out to sign Sheffield United goalkeeper George Long, 18, who is rated at £3m.


• Bristol City have issued a hands-off warning to top flight clubs circling winger Albert Adomah, with Fulham and Everton leading the chase.


• Former England star Paul Ince tops League One side Rochdale's list to replace manager Steve Eyre who was sacked on Monday.


• Tottenham defensive midfielder Jake Livermore wants to move out in January - and would consider a loan - to get more playing time.

• Liverpool have accused the FA of a witch-hunt after Luis Suarez was banned for eight games after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.


• Blackburn's owners are bidding to bring back Mark Hughes as manager - and tempt him with a massive bonus to keep Rovers in the Premier League.


• QPR are planning a shock move for Aston Villa striker Darren Bent in the January transfer window.

• Chelsea will attempt to sign Lille midfielder Eden Hazard, 20, if they fail to land Jack Rodwell from Everton.


• QPR and Wigan are set to go head to head in a £2m battle for Barcelona B striker Jonathan Soriano.


• Spurs have made a £5m offer for FC Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, who spent three years at Liverpool but never played due to work permit problems.


• Wigan have joined Southampton and Ipswich in the race to sign £3m-rated Doncaster striker Billy Sharp.


• Manchester United are letting the clock tick down on Dimitar Berbatov's Old Trafford future.


• Swansea have agreed a £100,000 deal to take Liverpool and Everton target Rory Donnelly from Cliftonville - but the Toffees have also okayed a fee with the Northern Irish club.

• Manchester United are tracking Independiente's £15m-rated midfielder Patricio Rodriguez but Benfica, Udinese and Marseille have also shown interest.


• Manchester City could make a move for Lille midfielder Eden Hazard for £30m.


• Bristol City are bidding £300,000 for Eastlands kid Ryan McGivern , who has impressed on loan.


• Swansea have agreed a £100,000 deal to take Liverpool and Everton target Rory Donnelly from Cliftonville - but the Toffees have also okayed a fee with the Northern Irish club.


• Aston Villa and Bolton want to sign Chelsea's teenage midfielder Josh McEachran on loan.


• West Brom will battle Wolves for Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner , who has struggled to settle in the North-East.


• Newcastle 's Peter Beardsley mad a 600-mile round trip to scout Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha on Monday - then found the 19-year-old striker was suspended.

• Wolves are set to make a £3m bid for Manchester City's Nedum Onuoha.


• Leicester City will send loan signings Michael Johnson and Gelson Fernandes back to Manchester City and St Etienne , and could cancel the contracts of Michael Ball and Bruno Berner.

• Luis Suarez has been banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Patrice Evra, prompting an extraordinary response from Liverpool accusing the Manchester United player of being "not credible" and alleging that the Football Association had deliberately set out to punish their player even before hearing the evidence.


• Arsene Wenger is looking to sign a left-back on loan after Kieran Gibbs suffered a setback in his recovery from hernia surgery and Manchester City's Wayne Bridge could be on his list.


• Chelsea's young midfielder Josh McEachran has been told he can go out on loan in January, in order to help his development. Aston Villa, Bolton, Swansea City and Fulham are all interested.

• Portugal's conviction that Manchester United are seeking a preliminary agreement on price for Benfica's Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan were strengthened when the weekly sports paper, which has closest and privileged access to Benfica, led with the story.

• Former boss Walter Smith has warned Rangers that they won't win the SPL title if they sell Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic in the January transfer window.


• Celtic could step up their bid to sign Maritimo striker Baba Diawara with French side Sochaux ready to make a £3m bid. 

• Portugal's conviction that Manchester United are seeking a preliminary agreement on price for Benfica's Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan were strengthened when the weekly sports paper, which has closest and privileged access to Benfica, led with the story.

• Wolves will bid around £5m for Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones in January.