FUNNY PICTURES

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City and Chelsea have been told they can have Atletico Madrid's 26-year-old striker Radamel Falcao next summer - but the bidding starts at £48m.

Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente was part of the Spain squad which won Euro 2012

Arsene Wenger, 62, has £35m to spend in January and the Arsenal manager will attempt to buy a striker with Atletico Madrid's Adrian Lopez, 24, and Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente, 27, his leading targets.

 

Sunderland are ready to compete with Everton for the signature of Belgium striker Jelle Vossen, 23.



Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman has told Wilfried Zaha, 19, to snub Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City and stay at Selhurst Park.



Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has asked his network of scouts to search for another new striker for the January transfer window.



Nemanja Vidic's agent has ruled out any possibility of the 30-year-old Manchester United defender joining Serie A champions Juventus in January.



Leeds United are close to completing a move for Southend United 's 24-year-old winger Ryan Hall.

St George's Park: A look around the new £105m facility

A panoramic shot of the Sir Alf Ramsey indoor training pitch at St George's Park. Former England managers have been remembered at the complex with suites or areas named after them to give nods to the country's past. The centre provides a base for all 24 England teams, from the senior men's and women's sides down to the junior boys' and girls' teams.

 

Wayne Rooney will captain England against San Marino

 

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: ENGLAND v SAN MARINO

• Venue: Wembley Stadium
• Date: Friday 12 October
• Kick-off: 20:00 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC website

Wayne Rooney will captain England in Friday's World Cup qualifier against San Marino in front of a capacity 90,000 crowd at Wembley.

The Manchester United forward, 26, takes the role because of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard's respective absences through suspension and injury.

Rooney, who has won 76 caps, said: "This is something I'm really proud of.

"It's a big challenge for myself, and I'm excited. Hopefully we can cap the day off with a good victory."

Rooney is aware of the importance of putting on a good performance against a side ranked joint worst in the world, at 207th, alongside Bhutan and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

San Marino's all-time record

P114

W1

D 5

L108

F19

A473

"The players don't want to let the fans down," he continued.

"The fans, since I've been involved with England, have been fantastic. They follow us around the world. We're looking forward to the game and hopefully we can deliver for the fans."

Two goals for Rooney would lift him clear into fifth place on England's all-time goalscoring list, going past Sir Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse and Alan Shearer.

England's top goal scorers

49: Sir Bobby Charlton
48: Gary Lineker
44: Jimmy Greaves
40: Michael Owen
30: Sir Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Alan Shearer
29: Wayne Rooney

"People have mentioned I will get into the top five (goalscorers) if I get a couple more and that would be great," he added.

"Obviously, the result is more important but it's an opportunity for us to try and get a few goals."

England manager Roy Hodgson is similarly enthused by the sell-out crowd at Wembley.

"It shows the support there is for the national team football in this country, and how lucky we are to have an arena that takes 90,000 people," he said.

Hodgson did not appear overly concerned by San Marino, who have won only one and drawn five of their 114 internationals, conceding 473 goals.

He refused to say who is in the starting XI but did reveal that next week's trip to Warsaw will influence his selection.

"We have a very important [World Cup qualifying] game in Poland on Tuesday, so of course a lot of my thoughts are how best to use my squad," he added.

"I know whatever team I choose at Wembley is likely to win the game."

Rooney previously captained England in a 1-0 defeat by Brazil in November 2009 in place of the then injured and now retired John Terry.

Meanwhile, Hodgson said that although Ryan Bertrand should not have sworn on Twitter, it showed his heart was in the right place.

The Chelsea defender angrily contradicted the FA's suggestion he had been withdrawn from the squad because of a sore throat, but subsequently apologised for swearing on the social media site.

"What he was saying is quite laudable," said Hodgson.

"He really wants to play for England and is really angry it has been suggested it is merely a sore throat when he is actually quite ill. But he shouldn't use a swear word.

"He has already apologised for it but it goes to show what a problem we