The Rumour Mill's been warned to take any speculation it sources from the Italian newspaper Tuttosport with a silo of salt, but is intrigued to see them report that, having successfully prised Nemanja Vidic away from Manchester United, Internazionale may be about to do the same withShinji Kagawa.
The Japan international who football is threatening to forget may be heartened to learn he's finally being linked with somebody other than his old club Borussia Dortmund, but any move by Inter will depend on the Serie A side's ability to offload their Argentinian midfielder Ricky Álvarezor his Croatian team-mate Mateo Kovacic, a 19-year-old whose promising career has stalled this season under the manager Walter Mazzari.
Speaking to reporters before his country's 4-2 midweek international friendly win over New Zealand, in which he scored a penalty, Kagawa voiced his frustration at his ongoing inability to make an impact at Old Trafford. "Of course it is important for a player to continue getting games, but there is not much I can do about my situation," he told the Japan Times. "It is something that I won't be able to gain unless I am delivering results. I can't change the situation I'm in, so I want to turn it into something positive and do well [against New Zealand]."
Kagawa isn't the only Manchester United player fed up with life on the bench, if the comments of his team-mate Javier Hernández are anything to go by. Back in the Mexico fold for a scoreless friendly against Nigeria in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the striker tacitly bemoaned the lack of opportunities being given to him by David Moyes, for whom he has started just one match out of United's last 10.
"I'm very eager to play as my club don't take me much into account," he said. "I hope I have the opportunity to play [for Mexico]. When you are called up, you have to be thankful and if not called up, you have to keep working." Inter, Spurs and Juventus are all believed to have expressed an interest in rescuing the £15m-rated Hernández from his Old Trafford purgatory.
Back in Tuttosport, rumour abounds that Manchester United might be open to offers for Robin van Persie at the end of the season, with Chelsea, Monaco and Juventus all being mooted as the disaffected Dutch striker's next port of call. Van Persie featured in Holland's friendly against France at the Stade de France but failed to trouble the scoreboard operator as the Dutch went down 2-0.
The Barcelona right-back Martín Montoya has long been a target for Liverpool, but the Merseyside club will have to compete with Bayern Munich for the 22-year-old's affections, should he fail to agree a new deal at the Camp Nou. Dissatisfied with the number of first-team opportunities he's getting as understudy to Dani Alves, Montoya has already refused one contract and told his employers he'll move elsewhere unless he's given more game time.
Ivica Olic has been around the block a time or two and has now announced he wants to see out his dotage at Stoke City. The 34-year-old, who scored both Croatia's goals in a 2-2 draw against Switzerland, is out of contract at Wolfsburg this summer and says Mark Hughes is interested in bringing him to the Britannia.
"There are many rumours about my future," he said, making the Mill's palms go all sweaty. "The press are talking about me moving to United States, to Qatar, but Stoke City remains my first choice. They are very serious and it would be really nice to play against Manchester United, Liverpool and other great English clubs. But nothing is signed yet so anything can happen. I also have some offers from Germany, even my former club Hamburg wants me. Never say never, right now the only thing I can say is that I will make my decision this month."
And finally, Aston Villa have emerged as the frontrunners to signMoussa Konaté, who has also caught the eye of scouts at Newcastle and West Ham. The 20-year-old Senegal international winger is currently on a season-long loan at the Serie A side Genoa from the Russian club FC Krasnodar.
