According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham midfielder Damien Johnson wants to stay at the club. Johnson’s current deal ends after this season although he has an option if he makes a certain amount of appearances. Johnson said,

“My contract’s up, yes, but it’s just about staying fit and being available at the moment … My ideal scenario would be to stay at Birmingham but sometimes that’s out of your hands … My priority is to stay fit and stay a part of things, be ready when I’m called on.”

“I think there are a lot of lads in the same situation.”

According to David Maddock at MirrorFootball, Liverpool are close to signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Maxi Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s agent Jurgen Milewski said,

“I can say the chances of a transfer are high.”

Rodriguez is out of contract after the season so Liverpool should not have to pay that much.

According to Aston Villa’s official website, Aston Villa striker Andreas Weimann has signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him there until June, 2012.

Weimann is currently the leading scorer for the Reserve squad with five goals.

According to David Anderson at MirrorFootball, Bolton are considering selling defender Gary Cahill for around £15million to raise funds for Owen Coyle when he arrives.

Cahill was not for sale under former manager Gary Megson but things could change now that the club is getting a new coach.

According to Sky Sports News, Stoke City striker Dave Kitson is looking to join Celtic so that he can get more playing time. Kitsons said,

“Celtic is a club that I have always admired and hoped to get the chance to play for them at some point … I have just come back from being on loan at Middlesbrough, where Gordon Strachan is the manager, and he only has fantastic things to say about Celtic, including how unbelievable the fans are.”

“Obviously Stoke would need to be happy with any deal, but moving to Celtic would be a great opportunity … I am at a critical point in my career when I should be at my peak and I need to be playing.”

“And, unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’m going to play too much at Stoke.”

According to The News, Portsmouth are hopeful of signing defender Onismor Bhasera. However the problem is that Kaizer Chiefs claim he still has a year left on his contract while Bhasera claims he is a free agent. Portsmouth will have to wait for FIFA to solve this problem before they can attempt to sign Bhasera.

According to John Percy at the Daily Star, Stoke City have slapped a price tag of £20million on defender Ryan Shawcross as they are not interested in selling him. Stoke boss Tony Pulis said,

“We have made it quite clear that he is going nowhere and we were delighted when Ryan signed a new deal late last year … He is an exceptionally talented young lad who has an important part to play at this football club.”

According to ESPN Soccernet, Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is going nowhere this month. His agent Paolo Fabbri said,

“I don’t think he will move [in January] … Except for a big surprise, at the moment I don’t see any solution to leave the team. I don’t think so.”

“I don’t know anything about [suggestions Vidic is unhappy at Old Trafford]. The last time I spoke with him he was happy. Since the defeat of a few days ago [against Leeds] I haven’t spoken with him.”

“Frankly speaking I haven’t spoken with him recently so I cannot answer to this question. According to Silvano [Martina, Vidic's other agent], the last time he spoke to him - I don’t know if it was one week, ten days, 15 days ago - there was no problem.”

Vidic has been linked with Real Madrid several times the past month.

According to Rupert Fryer at Goal.com, Lazio striker Tommaso Rocchi is not heading to West Ham United or Palermo. His agent Fabio Parisi told Tuttomercatoweb,

“Right now this is nothing new, he [Rocchi] is not required by either West Ham or Palermo … I believe that, barring any dramatic events, he will remain at Lazio.”

According to Wolverhampton’s official website, Wolves defender Neill Collins made his loan deal permanent with Preston. Collins joined Preston for an undisclosed fee and signed a three-and-a-half year deal.

UPDATE: According to David Maddock at MirrorFootball, Liverpool turned down a bid of £9million from Birmingham for Ryan Babel. The club supposedly wants £12million for Babel, which is what they paid for him.

January 2nd, 2010 According to ESPN Soccernet, Liverpool are not trying to sell Ryan Babel. Boss Rafa Benitez said,

According to Simone Bargellini at Sky Sports News, West Ham United striker Alessandro Diamanti dismissed the rumor that he is interested in going to AC Milan. Diamanti told milannews.it,

“I know nothing of these items about Milan and honestly I’m not interested in them … Right now I think only about the salvation of West Ham, I don’t care about anything else.”

“What will I do in case of a calling from Milan in January? I don’t know and I don’t care, I think only of saving West Ham.”

According to Stoke City’s official website, Stoke City striker Richard Cresswell made his loan deal permanent with Sheffield United.

UPDATE: According to Darren Lewis at MirrorFootball, Manchester City striker Felipe Caicedo is set to turn down a move to Hull City as he would prefer to play for Malaga.

December 31st, 2009 According to the Hull Daily Mail, Hull City boss Phil Brown confirmed the rumor that he is interested in Manchester City striker Felipe Caicedo. Brown said,

According to Sky Sports News, Wolverhampton are trying to sign Toulouse winger Fode Mansare on loan. Mansare’s agent Elhadj Nabe told L’Equipe,

“There is a chance of a loan deal for six months with an option to buy.”

According to ESPN Soccernet, Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena is on the verge of signing with Napoli for around £4.5million. His agent Roberto La Floria told Tuttomercatoweb,

“I believe the player will arrive in Napoli tomorrow (Wednesday) … At the moment there are logistical problems - that is to say he can’t leave Liverpool because of the snow.”

“The player will arrive on a permanent basis with a contract for four-and-a-half years.”

UPDATE: Just felt it was worth noting that Arsenal would receive a compensation fee for Fran Merida if he leaves as he is under 23 years of age.

According to Sky Sports News, 19-year-old Arsenal midfielder Fran Merida has turned down a new deal with the club and looks set to leave the Gunners when his current deal expires in the summer. Merida is expected to sign with Atletico Madrid.

UPDATE: According to Neil Allen at The News, Portsmouth have not yet received permission from the Premier League to extend the loan of Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara. Portsmouth will need permission to sign O’Hara as the transfer embargo is still in place.

January 4th, 2010 According to Jordan Cross at The News, Portsmouth boss Avram Grant is confident in keeping Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara, whose current loan deal ends on the 15th of January. Grant said,

UPDATE: According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham will find out today if they have a deal for Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel. The club already has arrangements for Michel to take a physical tomorrow if the two clubs come to an agreement.

January 2nd, 2010 According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham are on the brink of signing Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel despite recent reports that he was not for sale.