Coral rumour reel: Man Utd planning to put star players up for sale

Manchester United, 4/1 to win a major trophy this season, are the hot topic again for today’s transfer talk, and Louis van Gaal is reportedly keen on a summer clearout with the likes of Radamel Falcao, Robin Van Persie, Adnan Januzaj, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Rafael Da Silva all said to be unwanted.

One man who could see the exit door at Old Trafford as soon as January, though, is former vice-captain and academy graduate Darren Fletcher, who is being tracked by West Bromwich Albion, according to news sources. New Baggies boss Tony Pulis is also apparently keen on recruiting Blackburn attacker Rudy Gestede, but will need to offload Georgios Samaras first.

Manchester rivals City (5/2 title chances) are said to be considering a £20m move for injured Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez, who has previously been linked with Tottenham.

Staying in the northwest, PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi is an £8m target for Liverpool, as the French club have their eyes set on fellow Argentine Nicolas Gaitan.

Across the country to the northeast, Sunderland have apparently agreed a deal to sign 32-year-old Jermain Defoe from Toronto for a whopping £14m fee, with an offer of £80k-per-week for the player.

Down south in Hampshire, 13/8 top four chances Southampton are looking to add to their recent loan acquisition of Eljero Elia, by buying Braga midfielder Rafa Silva, who is rated at about £15m. Could that mean Morgan Schneiderlin is on his way out?