The top stories from papers and websites - 11 January 2013

• Rafa Benitez is a dead man walking at Chelsea following the humiliating home defeat by Swansea.


• Manchester City are expecting AC Milan to make a £24million bid for Mario Balotelli - despite branding him 'a rotten apple'.


• Bradford boss Phil Parkinson could spurn a possible Wembley appearance to take the reins at Blackpool or Doncaster.


• QPR boss Harry Redknapp is set to sign Stoke's Wilson Palacios.


• Inter have agreed to Galatasaray's £8m bid for Wesley Sneijder.


• Newcastle are set to beat Spurs and West Ham to sign Cameroon defender Gaetan Bong.


• Manchester United are eyeing up an £8m bid for Atletico Madrid keeper David Gil, 18.


• Chelsea could miss out on Brazilian midfielder Taison because his club’s new owner does not want to sell to Roman Abramovich. Representatives of the Metalist Kharkiv star, 24, were last night talking to Shakhtar Donetsk instead.


• Michael Laudrup is set to bag Swansea another stunning bargain from La Liga by nabbing Real Betis ace Jose Alberto Canas for nothing.


• Nicolas Anelka could announce his shock RETIREMENT after leaving Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.

• Manchester City are confident a deal can still be struck with AC Milan to offload Mario Balotelli.


• Southampton face a battle to keep record signing Gaston Ramirez as he is being lined up for a return to Italy with Inter Milan.


• Fulham are set to make the first move in the race for Birmingham keeper Jack Butland.


• Harry Redknapp is competing with LA Galaxy for Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne.


• Bolton winger Martin Petrov is making a shock move to Espanyol.


• Nottingham Forest boss Alex McLeish is set to sign winger Chris Burke from his old club Birmingham in a £500,000 deal.

• Andre Villas-Boas yesterday hit back at Harry Redknapp, telling him: You don't know what you're talking about.


• Manchester City are still confident of striking a deal with AC Milan to offload troubled striker Mario Balotelli.


• Wayne Rooney has told Sir Alex Ferguson he is desperate to face bitter rivals Liverpool this weekend.


• Aston Villa have approached Inter Milan over a move for midfielder Phillipe Coutinho.

• Angry Chelsea fans have decided to boycott matches until Rafa Benitez is dumped, it was claimed last night.


• Jamie Oliver was Manchester City's surprise transfer-window signing yesterday, agreeing a five-year deal to take care of all catering needs at the Etihad.


• Tottenham are in talks over a £15m swoop for Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo.


• Newcastle are keen on landing Rennes bad boy Yann M'Vila this month.


• Sunderland are giving a 10-day trial to American goalkeeper Joe Willis.


• QPR are weighing up a deal for Zulte Waregem striker Habib Habibou.


• Nottingham Forest will move for Blackburn keeper Paul Robinson.


• Ashley Cole's agent has flown to Spain with a view to speaking to Real Madrid about a possible move for the Chelsea defender.

• Roman Abramovich will make Pep Guardiola a "take it or leave it" £18 million-a-year deal to become Chelsea's next manager in the summer.


• Real Madrid have opened negotiations with Ashley Cole over a summer move to start the race for the England full-back's signature.


• Arsenal remain favourites to sign striker Adrian Lopez if he leaves Spain this month.


• Bayer Leverkusen have slapped a £12m asking price on Manchester United target Lars Bender.

• Rafael Benitez believes he could be a target for Real Madrid in the summer if his spell as interim manager of Chelsea finishes with the sack at the end of the season.

• Newcastle have been rocked by the request of their captain, Fabricio Coloccini, to leave the club during the January transfer window. The 30-year-old told club officials yesterday that he wants to return to Argentina.


• Arsenal have joined the race to sign Loic Remy from Marseille in a deal which could cost them £10m.

• Andre Villas-Boas, who says he has not spoken to Harry Redknapp in more than a year, may be expected to have a frank exchange of views with his predecessor as Tottenham manager when the pair stand shoulder to shoulder at Loftus Road tomorrow lunchtime.

• Manchester City believe Mario Balotelli could be bought by Milan, despite Silvio Berlusconi branding him a "rotten apple", and the Premier League champions are willing to accept about 30 million euros (£24.6m) for the troubled striker.

• Ajax and Galatasaray are interested in taking Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi on loan - less than six months after he moved to Anfield.

• Manchester City target Edinson Cavani only has eyes for a move to Real Madrid, according to his father.