Sky Sports Italia "sources" (somebody on Twitter, presumably) have reported that Manchester United want to bring Brazilian centre-back Alex in from Paris Saint-Germain to replace the gaps left in their back four by the imminent departure of Nemanja Vidic and likely exit of Rio Ferdinand. AC Milan have also been making cooing noises at the Brazilian, while PSG have offered him a one-year contract extension.
Meanwhile in Italy, pink paper La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Monaco have been in touch with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's "people" (a bossy man named Mino who keeps Zlatan on the straight and narrow) with a view to prising the Swede away from their rivals PSG. Monaco are also rumoured to have signed and sealed a deal with Víctor Valdés, who was stretchered off the Camp Nou sward with an anterior cruciate ligament injury on Wednesday night, in what was almost certainly a very unfortunate end to a distinguished career with Barcelona.
Sardour Azmoun is 19 years old, hails from a country hardly renowned for the number of outstanding footballers it produces and is good enough to have made a handful of appearances for a mid-table side in the Russian league, so it's no great surprise he's been labelled "the Iranian Lionel Messi". Frustrated Arsenal fans would probably prefer to see their manager sign the Argentinian Lionel Messi and will be shaking their heads in frustration upon hearing the news that Arsène Wenger is being reported to have offered Rubin Kazan £2m for Messi's raw Iranian equivalent, presumably with a view sending him out on loan to Hibernian, where he can become "the Iranian Daniel Boateng". The son of a volleyball legend, Azmoun's Wikipedia page reports that he enjoys horseback riding. He is also believed to have aroused the interest of talent scouts at AC Milan and Juventus.
Having been marginalised at Chelsea, where he's been usurped by César Azpilicueta, Ashley Cole could be offered a gig by Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, who's believed to be a fan of the left-back and reckons he could do a job for him. A keen fan of all things American, Cole may also have his head turned by New York Red Bulls, who are believed to be interested in bringing him Stateside, while their MLS rivals LA Galaxy are reported to be offering Cole's team-mate Frank Lampard £72,000 per week to see out his career in the USA.
Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado is one of many tiny green blobs currently threatening to merge into one big green blob on Manchester United's incredibly over-worked radar. Versatile, good at dribbling and peddling a fine line in Sturridge-esque bad "dad dancing" goal celebrations, the Colombia international can play in any position on the right side of the pitch, or as a No10.
Meanwhile in Germany, Borussia Dortmund have announced that their midfield tease Ilkay Gundogan, who is also a Manchester United target, will announce whether he's staying at the club or heading for pastures new, sooner rather than later. "As for the contract, it will not be a long, dragged-out affair," said Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, upon being asked about a player who has missed almost all of this season with a back injury. " I think it is not going to be more than a matter of weeks."
Inter director Piero Ausilio has sort of admitted the Serie A side are interested in bringing Chelsea striker Fernando Torres or his Manchester City counterpart Edin Dzeko to the San Siro this summer. "Aside from the names, I think it's obvious we are working in that direction for that role," he said. "It's true we cannot target players whose wages are too high, but in football there are often other resources. We'll put a little bit of creativity and ingenious thought into it." Inter are also believed to be close to signing Alex Song from Barcelona, who was one of many names on Manchester United's shopping list. That's your lot for today, have a great weekend.