Jorge Mendes: "Falcao is going nowhere in January"

Former Atlético Madrid player, Paulo Futre revealed a conversation he had with his friend, Portuguese football agent Jorge Mendes. In that conversation, Mendes, the world's most influential agent of the moment, reassured Futre and Atlético fans that Falcao isn't going anywhere for now.



"Jorginho! How're you doing brother? Tell me just one thing. Is it true that Falcao could be leaving Atlético Madrid in the January transfer window?" Futre asked in a telephone conversation. The agent replied: "You're mad Paulo, they're just rumours. Radamel isn't leaving Atlético. It'd be impossible for him to leave in January. Look, I'm eating dinner with him here in my house. Say hi to him, he's one of your biggest admirers".



Futre explained the situation to MARCA: "That telephone call with my good friend Jorge Mendes, the Colombian striker’s agent, and 'el Tigre' took place last Friday. It reassured me, as some of the most talked about things in and around Atlético are Falcao's possible departure and whether or not the club is already looking for his replacement."



Regarding Atlético's 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla, Futre said: "It was a very important confidence boost ahead of our next match against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Now it’s time to end our bad run against our neighbour and arch-rival."

Tuesday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Chelsea have joined Manchester City in the race to sign Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, according to Tuttomercatoweb.



- Scott Sinclair is facing an uncertain future at Manchester City with the club identifying Malaga attacking midfielder Isco as a leading summer target, according to The Telegraph.



- Manchester City coach David Platt remains unconcerned by reports surrounding the future of defender Joleon Lescott after he was left out of the squad which travelled to Chelsea at the weekend.



- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed his interest in Crystal Palace wonderkid Wilfried Zaha, according to Sportsmail.



- Jack Wilshere is on course for a bumper new contract as Arsene Wenger starts preparing the midfielder for the Arsenal captaincy.



- Arsenal and Everton are suddenly facing competition from Sevilla and Inter Milan in the race to land Lewis Holtby this January, according to talkSPORT.



- Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has told predecessor Harry Redknapp to forget about signing Jermain Defoe.



- David Moyes given the first definitive answer about his future plans by revealing he expects to begin discussions over a new contract in the New Year.



- Fulham could revive their interest in Moroccan playmaker Omar El Kaddouri amid reports that he could leave Napoli in January.



- West Ham are poised to sign young Irish striker Sean Maguire after he impressed on trial.



- West Ham have yet to make their move for David Beckham, but have not ruled themselves out of the race to sign the former England captain.



- Roger Espinoza is close to finalising his move from Sporting Kansas City to Wigan.



- Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, who has been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, insists he will continue to give his all for the club as speculation about his future continues.



- Borussia Dortmund insist Robert Lewandowski, who has been linked with Arsenal and Manchester United, does not have to be sold next year.



- Willian, who has been linked with Chelsea and Tottenham, has refused to rule out a January move away from Shakhtar Donetsk, but insists he is focused on his football.



- Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony, who has been linked with Chelsea and Liverpool, has dismissed talk of a move to Paris Saint-Germain.



- Struggling Ligue 1 side Troyes have bolstered their defensive options by signing former St Etienne player Sylvain Monsoreau on a free transfer.



- Stuttgart midfielder Christian Gentner has started contract negotiations with the Bundesliga club.



- Wolfsburg are preparing to decrease their wage bill in the January transfer window but Diego wants to sign a new contract.



- Eintracht Frankfurt will not allow Sebastian Rode to leave the club on the cheap in the January transfer window.



- Guus Hiddink says he intends to end his illustrious coaching career at the end of the current season with Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala.

Rodgers: Liverpool not far off top four rivals

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers reckons his side are on the right path towards matching Tottenham and challenging regularly for Champions League football again.



Rodgers can guide his side into the top half of the Premier League for the first time this season with a win at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.



His first five months at Anfield have been made trickier by the challenges of trying to improve a lop-sided squad short of top-class strikers on a limited budget. But even though he has seen Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas spend £57 million on six players, including Liverpool summer target Clint Dempsey, Rodgers is not envious.



The Liverpool boss was a target for Spurs as they looked to replace Harry Redknapp at the start of the summer, but insists he made the right choice by moving to Anfield in June.



"I was very happy in my work at Swansea," Rodgers said. "Harry had done a brilliant job there, and for whatever reason, the club decided that it wasn't to be and looked elsewhere.



"For me to leave Swansea was going to be a big ask, but I had the opportunity to come here, and I've not regretted any moment of it."



Asked if there had been contact with Tottenham over their manager's job earlier this year, Rodgers said: "It's irrelevant. Tottenham have chosen a manager. Obviously, Harry had done a great job there, and they decided to go down the route of Andre Villas-Boas.



"Andre's gone in, he's looking to continue the great work Harry had done. My only thinking is about Liverpool."



Rodgers found it hard to hide his disappointment at missing out on Dempsey, who wanted to join Liverpool from Fulham in August, only for the deal to fall through, with Tottenham signing him for £6 million instead.



By the time Dempsey's future was sorted, Rodgers had already allowed Andy Carroll to join West Ham on a season's loan. The Liverpool manager has since had to manage a chronic shortage of strikers.



"There was an offer to sign Clint," he said. "He was a player who had been terrific at Fulham, so we were interested in him, and I'm sure several other clubs were as well. The club felt they had done what they could to get the player. It wasn't to be, and he moved to Tottenham. Our life moves on."



Rodgers feels Liverpool are on the right lines, heading to White Hart Lane unbeaten in eight league games - although that run includes five draws.



"We know we're not too far away," he said. "We're very, very close to arriving in that zone that we want to be in. You only need to look at some of the things that have gone against us in terms of goals disallowed, for instance. If you take those points alone, over the course of a few games, that would be shooting us right up there.



"But we're just going to look to take care of our own game and keep progressing. We know we have the qualities to grow and arrive up in there."



Anfield has not hosted Champions League football since Liverpool were eliminated in the group stages in December 2009. Tottenham, on the other hand, reached the quarter-finals in 2010-11 before losing to Real Madrid, and would have qualified for this season's competition had Chelsea not won it in May.



Rodgers acknowledges that he will not be given the money by owners Fenway Sports Group to match Tottenham's spending, and so has to find other ways to improve Liverpool's fortunes.



"Tottenham have been building the group steadily, and they've worked their way up to become challengers for those Champions League positions," Rodgers said. "They have invested heavily and done it over a number of windows. We're trying to arrive in that position, and we're seeing what it sometimes takes to do that.



"But if you haven't got the investment, then you have to find other ways of doing it, and that's where we are at the moment. We look at our way of working. Can we be different in our way of playing? Can we develop young players and bring them through? Can we find a bargain somewhere?



"Of course, Liverpool always want to be in for the top talent, and this is a club that can attract those players. But going forward, a lot of players want to be in the Champions League. So they want to come in to hear that's somewhere we want to get to in the coming years.



"It's about getting young players through, finding players we can develop, players who are hungry, and players who really want to succeed in helping the club move forward."

Europe's top 4 has surprise guests

We are currently a third of the way through the season in Europe's four biggest leagues, and, despite not having an invite to the party, several unexpected teams have managed to gatecrash top spots in the Premier League, the Spanish 'Liga BBVA', Italy's 'Seria A' and the German 'Bundesliga'.



West Bromwich Albion. The great revelation in the Premier League, the 'Baggies' are currently in third spot, three points off second placed City and four points from United in top spot. They've made their stadium a fortress (six wins from seven home games) and Long, Odemwingie, Morrison and Lukaku have all been outstanding.



Atlético de Madrid. The club from Spain's capital city has surprised with an effective and attractive playing style. Last season Simeone warned: "Atlético could provide a challenge". With 34 points, the team is second, just one victory behind Barcelona and eight points ahead of Real Madrid. Anything's possible with Falcao in the side.



Fiorentina. The 'Viola' are second in Serie A, behind Juventus. The Italian side seems reborn with fantastic performances from Jovetic, top scorer with six goals, and Borja Valero, the team's midfield mastermind.



Eintracht Frankfurt. A team that was only promoted to the top flight recently has got into the Champions League spots, and is nipping at the heels of the almighty Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke 04. Alexander Meier is the team's star performer with nine goals.

Wayne Rooney fears Carroll threat

Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to pay special attention to Andy Carroll on Wednesday night.



Carroll is bound to get a frosty reception from the Old Trafford faithful when West Ham travel north. As a Liverpool player with an enormous price tag, it is hard to imagine the United fans will not single him out.



However, after working alongside the 23-year-old at close quarters during Euro 2012, Rooney knows the reality of Carroll's performances is nowhere near the perception many have of him.



The burly forward will travel north with confidence high following his first goal of the season at Tottenham on Sunday. And Rooney has warned his United team-mates to be on their guard.



"Andy Carroll is a handful," said the striker. "I am sure if you ask any defender, they find it difficult to play against someone like that who is good in the air and on the floor.



"He is physical and makes it hard for opponents. That type of player doesn't always get all the goals but they can cause trouble up front and create problems. I am sure that is what Sam Allardyce wants him to do."

Dani Alves out for 15-20 days

Barcelona's defender, Dani Alves, will be out for between 15 and 20 days with a hamstring injury to his right leg, which he suffered in the Levante game at the Ciutat de València stadium.



A medical test he underwent this Monday confirmed the Brazilian full-back's condition. This is the fourth time Dani Alves has been injured this season, with all of them being muscular injuries.



Martín Montoya came on to replace him against Levante, which made history because it meant that, for the first time ever, every one of the eleven men on the pitch for Tito's team were players that came through the youth ranks at Barcelona.



During the spell that Alves is predicted to be out for, Barça will play five games: Alavés, Athletic Club de Bilbao, Benfica, Betis and Atlético de Madrid. This will more than likely extend to six games, since Barça will be defending a 3-0 advantage that it notched up in Vitoria for the return leg of the cup game against Alavés this Wednesday and will likely go through to the last 16 of the Spanish cup to be played on 12th December.



Alves actually had exactly the same injury recently, although it was to his left leg. This prior injury happened in the game against Real Madrid, when he was also substituted for Montoya. Alves has now joined Bartra, Muniesa, Villa, Cuenca, Alexis Sánchez and Abidal on Barcelona's injury list.

Benitez insists he can help Torres

Rafael Benitez insists he can help Fernando Torres rediscover his form and win over the Stamford Bridge faithful.



Benitez got a frosty reception from sections of the club's support when he made his first appearance in the dug-out against Manchester City on Sunday.



But he is adamant that he can revive the fortunes of the club and Torres - and get the fans back on side in the process.



"I understand the fans and how they feel," he told Sky Sports News. "I will try to prove I am here for the right reasons and I want to win.



"Imagine if you are a player who is struggling. I would say 'Stay focused, try to do your job, don't get distracted, concentrate on your football'.



"For me it is the same, I want to concentrate on coaching, improve the players and bring the fans back.



"I understand the feeling of the fans because of my time at Liverpool. We had a rivalry which was quite difficult.



"Torres can come back, but how far? I don't know. It depends on the team. Yes he can improve, I am sure he can improve, but it depends on the team to help him.



"I am not under pressure to pick him because Daniel Sturridge is still injured so I don't have many options."