According to Nadia Carminati at Sky Sports News, Roma defender John Arne Riise denied any rumor that he wants to leave the club for Liverpool. He said,

“I never said I want to return to Liverpool nor in England and I have never issued those statements … I’m happy here and I want to stay at Roma.”

According to MirrorFootball, Birmingham are interested in Rangers duo Steven Davis and Kevin Boyd. Boss Alex McLeish is supposedly preparing a £3million bid for Davis and a £1million bid for Boyd, who is out of contract this summer.

According to The Shields Gazzette, Sunderland are not likely going to go after Tottenham midfielder David Bentley this January. Boss Steve Bruce was quoted as saying,

“David Bentley is a good player, but I would consider a move for him very unlikely.”

According to Simone Bargellini at Sky Sports News, Manchester City are interested in Osasuna duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Nacho Monreal. However the club does not have any desire of selling either unless their buy-out clauses are met.

President Patxi Izco told Diario de Noticias de Navarra,

“There is nothing to discuss or negotiate … We rely on both players and they can leave the club in January only if will come some club who pay their clauses.”

According to Andy Walker at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham are thought to be interested in Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Shevchenko, but he is not a top priority. One of the biggest reasons is because of his large wages.

Other targets mentioned are West Bromwich midfielder Graham Dorrans and QPR’s Wayne Routledge.

According to Simone Bargellini at Sky Sports News, Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena has been linked with Napoli. His agent Roberto La Florio said,

“It is clear that in January Napoli will sign new players, especially in the role of Dossena … We’ll see in January if there are opportunities to return to Italy and play - we are interested because Dossena wants to go to the World Cup.”

“Napoli is the Italian team that has pushed most for Dossena and according to me it would be the perfect solution for him.”

According to John Cross at MirrorFootball, Portsmouth are leading the chase for Benfica defender Miguel Vitor. Ipswich and Birmingham are thought to be the other two teams in the race for Vitor, who might be loaned out to gain experience.

According to Stefan Coerts at Goal.com, Bild is reporting that Liverpool have sent scouts to watch Hamburg attacker Eljero Elia. Elia was purchased last summer by Hamburg for €9million.

According to ESPN Soccernet, the agent of Inter Milan defender Maicon admitted that there is no link between his client and Manchester City. Antonio Caliendo said,

“”Every day there’s a story linking Maicon to a different club … First it was Real Madrid, then Manchester United and now City. I think Maicon has already reiterated his wish to remain at Inter.”

“If the likes of Real or United knock on the door then you consider the eventual offers,” said Caliendo. “But we are talking about a top player who is fighting for the league title, the Champions League, the best player in his role, what would he be doing at City? … I think it would be unthinkable, let’s not joke about it.”

According to James Riach at Sky Sports News, Hull City chairman Adam Pearson is looking to lower the wages of the club. Currently the club’s highest paid players are Jimmy Bullard, Geovanni, Daniel Cousin, and George Boateng.

It is reported that the wage bill is currently £40million for Hull City.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, despite the fact that Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy wants to leave, the club will not get rid of him. It states that boss Sam Allardyce does not want to sell him as his options are going to be limited up top once Franco Di Santo returns to Chelsea when his loan deal ends.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Blackburn are indeed willing to sell McCarthy if they are offered around £3.5million. Boss Allardyce is quoted as saying,

“At his age I’d understand if he wants to play first-team football. At the moment, he can’t get it here … There is a price to be met if someone wants to buy Benni McCarthy. But we would have to have a replacement for him to allow it to develop.”