According to Simon Mullock at MirrorFootball, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez would like to sign midfielder Javier Mascherano to a new deal. Benitez said,

“We spoke to Javier and his agent two weeks ago and told them our ideas and they told us their ideas. Javier is playing really well again. He has come back to his best and now we are happy for talks to progress.”

“We have plenty of time to do the deal because he still has two more years left on his contract, but we are talking and I believe we will sit down again sooner rather than later to agree the future.”

“The last conversations that we had were very positive. Talk about him leaving has all gone quiet so we are OK again.”

According to Stephen McGowan at the Daily Mail, Birmingham are preparing to make an offer for Celtic winger Aiden McGeady. McGeady has stated that he is happy at the club but that he wants to play in one of the top European leagues someday.

According to Tom Collomosse at the London Evening Standard, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp stated that he might have a tough time for a goalkeeper. He said,

“People have talked about James and Foster but they are going to want to play and Gomes has been brilliant this season.”

“It is a difficult situation because if Gomes gets injured, we need someone who can come in and do the job. It’s no good putting someone in just to give them experience.”

According to ESPN Soccernet, Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes said that he may quit when the season is over. Scholes said,

“I wouldn’t say I am playing some of my best football and I don’t always feel I am making as much of a contribution as I would like,” Scholes said. “I always preferred it when I was playing regularly and scoring a lot more goals. Now, it’s different. I play once every two or three weeks and I can only hope to do well when I get the chance.

“I just have to be OK with that. I don’t have a choice. Obviously, every player wants to play every week, but I know now it can’t always happen. You do think about the future, but I’m not too sure. I’ll just carry on with the way it’s going at the moment and we’ll see what happens come the end of the season.”

According to Sky Sports News, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger likes Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko but admits his price is too high. He said,

“I like the player … But they fly too high right now - price-wise.”

Wenger also admitted that Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh is not available. He said,

“He is not available, their [Bordeaux's] chairman says that … They are top of their group in the Champions League. Why should they sell him now? … They will not get a lot of money [because he is out of contract in the summer].”

“How for their fans can they sell one of their best players in the middle of the season when they are in an excellent position?”

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham have offered a new two-year deal worth £70,000-a-week to defender Ledley King.

According to Steve Stammers at Sky Sports News, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is considering making a £15million bid for West Ham United striker Carlton Cole.

UPDATE: According to Fulham’s official website, Fulham defender Aaron Hughes signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2013.

December 3rd, 2009 According to David Smith at the London Evening Standard, Fulham are in talks with defender Aaron Hughes to work out a new deal. Hughes said,

According to Alan Nixon at MirrorFootball, Burnley striker Robbie Blake hopes to sign a new deal with the club. He said,

“I’m up at the end of the season and hopefully something can get sorted out soon. I have not really had talks so far, nothing has been said. But, fingers crossed, I can impress enough to get a new deal.”

According to Christ Burton at Sky Sports News, Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez admitted that the club would like to bring in 2-3 players. He said,

“We lost one player (King) we didn’t expect to lose and we sent out a player on loan as well (Ben Watson to QPR) … We’re a little light in numbers and we need to bring in two or three players in the transfer window to give us the right balance to go into the second half of the campaign with full confidence.”

“So we need to work hard to bring in these kind of players, but not just bring in numbers for the sake of it … I will never sign a player because it’s the window and it’s open, that’s not the way I work.”

“But we must have players with the right character, who are at the right moment in their careers, who can bring something different to what we already have … Importantly, with my focus on the players we have in the squad, the players coming in have to help them.