Gossip: Verratti, Sanchez, Van Dijk, Messi, Berahino, Zaza, Barkley

For the latest rumours, gossip and debate, check out our Sportsday rolling news service every weekday, and for a list of all the completed deals, see our transfers page.

Paris St-Germain's Italy midfielder Marco Verratti, 24, is the top transfer target for Chelsea in January. (Daily Mail), external

Arsenal's 27-year-old forward Alexis Sanchez says he is very happy at the club but whether he signs a new contract depends on the Gunners. "It really doesn't depend on me [but] if they want to show confidence in me," he said. (Sky Sports), external

Pep Guardiola does not want to make any signings in January to bolster Manchester City's title charge. (Daily Mirror), external

Alternatively, Manchester City will consider making a January bid for Southampton central defender Virgil van Dijk, 25, if their defensive problems persist. (Daily Telegraph), external

But the Dutch player would cost City £50m. (Evening Times), external

Chelsea have identified Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, 22, as their preferred replacement for Oscar, 25, who is set to join Shanghai SIPG for £60m next month. (Times - subscription required), external

West Ham have made a loan bid for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi, 23. (Sun), external

David Moyes has said he might have turned down the Sunderland manager's job if he had known the true state of the club's finances. (Daily Star), external

The Sunderland boss wants to sign a midfielder and a centre-back in January but says the club's wage bill means he cannot bring in a loan signing unless the Black Cats offload players. (Chronicle), external

Tony Pulis wants England U21 striker Saido Berahino, 23, to stay at West Brom, but expects another transfer saga in January. (Express and Star), external

Manager Ronald Koeman says contract talks with Ross Barkley are not an immediate priority for Everton, despite Tottenham making an enquiry for the 23-year-old England midfielder. (Evening Standard), external

Simone Zaza's agent says the 25-year-old West Ham loanee will return to Juventus in January. The Italian striker joined the Hammers in August on a deal worth £20m if made permanent. (Juvenews.eu - in Italian), external

Manchester United forward Memphis Depay, 22, is close to agreeing a move to Everton, where he will be joined by 27-year-old United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. (Manchester Evening News), external

But United will not be buying any players in January, according to Jose Mourinho. (Four Four Two), external

Mourinho has made Benfica's Sweden defender Victor Lindelof , 22, his priority - but will have to wait until the summer to sign him. (Daily Mirror), external

Spanish side Valencia are considering a January move for Chelsea and Liverpool target Geoffrey Kondogbia. The 23-year-old France midfielder has fallen out of favour at Inter Milan. (Superdeporte via Talksport), external

Manager Pep Guardiola says Claudio Bravo, 33, will be staying at Manchester City despite reports the Chile goalkeeper could return to Barcelona. (Independent), external

Guardiola has been having breakfast with Bravo to try to help the goalkeeper settle in England. (Daily Mirror), external

Belgian side Genk want to keep hold of 20-year-old Wilfred Ndidi, despite the Nigeria midfielder being close to joining Leicester in January. (Leicester Mercury), external

France forward Anthony Martial, 21, says he has found it "annoying" being on the bench under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. (SFR Sport via Guardian), external

Hebei Fortune, the Chinese Super League team who want to offer Barcelona forward Lionel Messi 100m euros (£83.7m) a season, already pay former Arsenal striker Gervinho £83,000 a game. (Sport, via Sky Sports) , external

Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez, 25, says he is happy at Real Madrid, despite speculation surrounding his future. (AS), external

Stoke's players have been called into training on Christmas Day, which manager Mark Hughes says will leave some of the foreign players "scratching their heads". (Stoke Sentinel), external

Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney, 31, was offered to Napoli in the summer, according to an Italian agent. (Radio CRC via Goal), external

Sacked England boss Sam Allardyce wants to be back in management by January and would consider a job abroad. (Beinsports), external

Record signing Borja Baston, 24, will not be leaving Swansea in January, despite reports linking the Spanish striker with a return to his home country. (Evening Post), external

Sergio Aguero has tweeted his sympathies to Manchester City team-mate Ilkay Gundogan, after it was announced the midfielder needs surgery on torn cruciate knee ligaments. (Twitter), external

Andrea Pirlo has posted a picture from his foggy walk with his dog Pablo. (Instagram), external

Tottenham players had a festive game of charades. (Twitter), external

Vincent Kompany posted about his visit to greet patients at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. (Instagram), external

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all seemed to share a joke in training. (Twitter), external

That is apart from Juan Mata, who looked miserable and later tweeted: "It seems I didn't get the joke". (Twitter), external

Ex-Chelsea forward Florent Malouda produced one of the great penalty misses of all time for Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League. (Joe.co.uk), external

The children of West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet have been banned from mentioning the name of Cristiano Ronaldo, after France's defeat by Portugal in the final of Euro 2016. (Sport24 via Metro), external