Manchester City have tried hard to bring in a quality centre back to provide ample cover for their first-choice pairing of Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott during the current transfer window. But they have failed to add anybody, with their number target Thiago Silva choosing PSG instead. Liverpool's Martin Skrtel has been mentioned as a possible alternative in the past and the Express believes that the Premier League Champions will indeed press ahead with a move for the Slovakian.

The 27 year old has been non-committal about his future at Anfield, leaving the door ajar for a possible exit should he fail to reach an agreement over an extension to his current contract, which expires in two years time. Skrtel has been a huge presence at the back for Liverpool, forging an impressive partnership with Daniel Agger. His departure would be a huge loss for Brendan Rodgers as he would have to re-build his backline as Jamie Carragher is edging closer to the end of his long career.

Manchester United continue to face stiff opposition from Sao Paulo over teenage wonder kid Lucas Moura as the Daily Mail reports that Brazilian club want an astronomical fee of £50m. The Red Devils have had an official team working on the transfer for a few weeks now but Sao Paulo's increasingly unrealistic demands might draw the curtains on the chase.

The club's Director, Marco Aurelio Cunha told TMW: “Manchester United made a very important offer of €35m but they would need to produce a little more.” He added that Lucas was the 2^nd most prized asset in Brazil after Neymar and that they had no intention of letting him go without pocketing a huge sum.

Shortly after Andrey Arshavin's agent talked up the possibility of the Russian playmaker heading over to the Middle East, where he is apparently in demand with a number of clubs, Zenit St. Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti reaffirmed his desire to bring Arshavin back to Russia to play for the club he grew up at.

The Russian player has not been part of Arsene Wenger's first team for a long time now after a string of insipid performances, had fallen out of favour, with Theo Walcott, Gervinho, and now Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being preferred to him. Arshavin spent the second half of last season on loan with the Russian club, and scored 3 times in 10 appearances, thereby leaving the Zenit management sufficiently impressed to make them interested in a permanent signing.

Arsene Wenger faces an old adversary in Sir Alex Ferguson this summer and it isn't a pitch-side battle between the veteran managers but rather a transfer market duel for the services of one Robin van Persie. The Dutchman's departure from the Emirates is all but confirmed, but the possibility of him ending up at Old Trafford has increased greatly after Sir Alex confirmed that he had made a bid for the striker. United's cross-town rivals Manchester City were believed to be favourites for his signature, ahead of even Juventus who were the first to approach the 28 year old.

Man United's website carried quotes from the Scot's interview with MUTV, where he said: “Obviously Arsenal have given out the fact that we've made a bid for him. We try to keep business as close as possible to us until the moment we conclude a deal. There's no point talking about something that might not happen. There are other clubs interested in the player. We've shown an interest and that's where we're at the moment."

Manchester City are set to offer 13-year old Birmingham starlet Foday Nabay a blockbuster contract to ward off interest from Manchester United for the youngster. The teenager, who was born in Sierra Leone, was called up by the England Under-16s last year despite being just 12 years old, and has been identified as one of the country's top footballing prospects for the future.

Understandably, interest in him has been overwhelming, with a number of Premier League heavyweights like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa said to have held talks with the player likened to City star Yaya Toure.

Nineteen year old Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku this week finally gave the Chelsea fans a glimpse of his awe-inspiring talent which made the European Champions dish out Â£18 million to sign him from Anderlecht last summer as he scored twice in the Blues' 4-2 win against MLS side Seattle Sounders. The second of those goals had a certain Drogba-esque quality about it as the youngster turned his defender before hammering the ball home.

With Chelsea yet to sign a third striker to supplement their forward line of Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, there is a distinct possibility that Lukaku will stay on at Stamford Bridge this season and be given an opportunity to compete with the aforementioned duo for a starting berth. However, should Chelsea land either of their primary targets - Edinson Cavani or Hulk - the teenager will fall to the bottom of the pecking order and it will make more sense for him to go out on loan to ideally a Premier League club rather than warm the benches all season.