Drogba exit?
Striker Didier Drogba is poised to leave Chelsea for Inter Milan, papers including the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror reported.
The Blues are ready to let Drogba go in a 30 million-pound ($46 million) swap deal for Inter's Brazilian forward Adriano, the Mirror said.
Drogba had a secret meeting with Inter officials in a London restaurant two nights ago, the Mirror said. That may be the final straw as Chelsea is increasingly frustrated with the player, who could now rejoin his former coach Jose Mourinho in Italy.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is ready to let Drogba leave if he can get Adriano and another striker — maybe CSKA Moscow's Vagner Love — the paper added.
Scolari could barely hide his anger as reporters asked him if he knew about the meeting with Inter, the Sun reported.
Ronaldo targeted
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has accused teams of a deliberate and systematic campaign of foul play against Cristiano Ronaldo, the Mirror said.
A series of brutal challenges by Villarreal players last night left the player with stud marks on his knee and infuriated Ferguson, the paper added.
One player fouls him, then another player fouls him, then someone else does, the Mirror quoted Ferguson as saying after his side confirmed its place in the knockout phase of the Champions League with a 0-0 draw in Spain.
Joan Capdevila was sent off seven minutes from the end for a high challenge on Ronaldo.
United's Wayne Rooney apologized for diving on two occasions during the match, the Guardian cited Ferguson as saying — the second time in an attempt to win a penalty. It was uncharacteristic of the player, the manager said.
City spending spree
Manchester City is ready to spend more than 100 million pounds on strengthening its squad in the January transfer window, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The defense is the main priority, and the paper said that ambitiously — and rather optimistically the short list includes Chelsea's John Terry, Arsenal's Kolo Toure and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. AC Milan playmaker Kaka is another possibility, it said.
City's new-found wealth — it's owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment — is set to inflate wage levels, the Telegraph added, as the clubs funding is relatively unaffected by the credit crunch.
Allardyce sought
Former Bolton and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce may take over as coach of Nottingham Forest, which is in last place in the second-tier Championship, the Mail said. Current coach Colin Calderwood may be dismissed, the paper added.
Allardyce is also wanted by Charlton after the firing of Alan Pardew, the Mail said.
Transfer talk
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in signing 21- year-old Sevilla defender Federico Fazio, the Mirror reported.
Wenger is also likely to recall Philippe Senderos from AC Milan when his loan ends next year, the paper added.
Newcastle's interim manager Joe Kinnear doesn't want to sell midfielder Charles NZogbia, who's been linked with a 5 million-pound move to Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, the Sun reported.
Bolton striker Heidar Helguson signed with QPR on loan yesterday after a move to Charlton stalled, the Mirror reported. The deal covers the period until Jan. 1 when the teams will decide about a permanent move.