Didier Drogba To Hold Talks With FC Barcelona? (TRANSFER TALK AND GOSSIP)

Barça Set To Talk To Drogba? (TRANSFER TALK)

Didier Drogba is reportedly set to fly into Catalonia today for talks with FC Barcelona, less than a week after he signed for Shanghai Shenhua.

The former Chelsea striker - who scored three times against the Catalans for the Blues - inked a two-year deal with the Chinese side six days ago, but Barça are allegedly exercising a release clause with a view to acquiring the 34-year-old.

Conflicting reports are flying around, with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo leading the way on the story.

Remaining with Chelsea talk, Napoli have earmarked Raul Meireles as a possible £8m summer capture after he impressed against them in the Champions League round-of-16 last season, report the Mirror.

Meireles, 28, joined Chelsea on the August transfer deadline day last year after just one season at Liverpool. He has started all four of Portugal's Euro 2012 games, but is likely to be the fall guy in the Champions Leaguer winners' starting XI next season.

Radamel Falcao has been on Roman Abramovich's radar for a year now, but the Colombian's Atletico Madrid employers insist he is not for sale at any price claim The Sun. This does not chime with whispers that a £50m fee would seal a deal for the Europa League final goalscorer though.

Also likely to leave a Premier League club is Edin Džeko. The Manchester City striker's abode featured removals vans as early as January this year, but a heavily-mooted move to Bayern Munich is reportedly in doubt after FC Hollywood made a bid for Wolfsburg's 26-year-old striker Mario Mandžukić, say the Daily Mail.

Mandžukić scored three times for Croatia at the Euros as they unluckily bowed out at the group stage.

Aleksander Kolarov isn't the most popular of players at Eastlands given his flimsy defending, but City have denied reports they want to sell the £18m left-back, report the Daily Star.

From unwanted to wanted, and Sunderland are believed to be stepping up their efforts to acquire the much-admired Steven Fletcher from relegated Wolves, suggest the Mail.

QPR wanted to fine Joey Barton £840,000 - three months' wages - rather than the six-week fine he was slapped with by the club. The Mirror make the morning claim.

There's still plenty of comments from the tabs and broads on England's guileless exit from the Euros too, with the most noteworthy idealistic yet tempered by potential stubbornness.

Tactical genius Harry Redknapp helpfully states England need to learn to hang onto the ball in the Mirror again, while Rafael Benítez claims Roy Hodgson has to change the system, report the Independent.

Hearteningly though the England coach has insisted he will not sacrifice the Three Lions' old guard (failures), say the Guardian.

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