Hot Football Manager Gossip: McClaren, Rodgers, Klopp, Guardiola

There are more juicy rumours about manager transfers than player transfers in today’s papers so, for one day only, Hot Football Transfer Gossip is being rebranded as Hot Football Manager Gossip. It’s worth clarifying that this column will concern hot gossip about football managers, as opposed to gossip about hot football managers. They are very different things, and anyone clicking this link hoping to see hot football managers will be sorely disappointed.

To hammer this important distinction home, we’ll start with Steve McClaren. The Newcastle boss’s season went from bad to worse when the Magpies were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Sheffield Wednesday this week, but his job is safe. In fact it’s better than safe, with the Telegraph reporting that McClaren will be given more funds to spend in January despite the club’s £40m summer outlay leaving them joint bottom of the league. That transfer kitty could be swiped away from McClaren if David Moyes becomes available though, with Toon owner Mike Ashley secretly hoping Real Sociedad lose a couple more games so he can swoop for the Scotsman.

The pressure on Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has increased, says the Mail, not just because the Reds struggled to beat Carlisle in the cup but also because former Borussia Dortmund coach has “signalled his desire” to end his sabbatical and manage in England. It’s unclear how this desire was signalled. The Mail concedes that the German coach “has not made any public comment” about it, but adds “it is understood” he wants to move to Liverpool. It could be inside information, telepathy or pure guesswork that has brought the Mail to this conclusion, but it’s possibly not the strong sourcing that will have Rodgers quaking in his boots just yet.

Sticking with hot manager gossip, and on this occasion it could apply on both levels if you find dapper Spaniards with a salt-and-pepper beard attractive, Pep Guardiola is reportedly being lined up as the next England manager. The Sun says the FA would be prepared to offer the Bayern boss £10m a year to take the step down and manage the Three Lions. That’s four times what Roy Hodgson gets, which sounds about right because Guardiola has won at least four times as much as Hogdson.

As for player transfer gossip, we can wrap that up in one paragraph. Liverpool’s Divock Origi could be loaned to Norwich in January, Manchester City are being linked with some 25-year-old Australian geezer called Luke Brattan, and Bayern Munich have said they will not sell Thomas Muller to Manchester United or anyone else, for any amount of money, ever.

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