Gossip column: Guardiola, Pedro, Bender, Berbatov

Manchester City are sure they will appoint Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, 44, as their boss next summer in a £20m-a-year contract. The Catalan says he is "not convinced" about signing a new deal with his German club. (Sun - subscription required) 
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has no plans to offload any of the club's players, dealing a blow to Manchester United who are looking to sign their 28-year-old forward Pedro. (Mirror) 
Chelsea have agreed a fee of £17.6m to sign 21-year-old Augsburg left-back Baba Rahman. (Bild Sport - in German) 

The Sun backpage

John Terry, 34, is backing Radamel Falcao to become a hit with Chelsea, saying the Colombian needed just two minutes to show he could make it in a game at Stamford Bridge last season. (Daily Star) 
Tottenham are stepping up their efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund's 26-year-old defensive midfielder Sven Bender. (Mirror) 
Spain striker Fernando Torres, 31, says he is on the hunt for trophies at Atletico Madrid. (FourFourTwo) 
Gianfranco Zola, manager at Qatar side Al-Arabi says he would "give a thought" to signing striker Mario Balotelli, 24, from Liverpool. (Sun - subscription required) 
Crystal Palace could hijack Leicester City's move for former Inter Milan midfielder Alessandro Cannataro, 20. (Evening Standard) 
Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, 34, is close to joining Aston Villa on a free transfer after leaving Monaco. (Express) 
The West Midlands side have also made a £1m approach to sign West Brom's 32-year-old defender Joleon Lescott. (Daily Mail) 
Norwich City manager Alex Neil confirms the club are close to signing Blackburn goalkeeper Jake Kean, 24, to provide back-up to number one John Ruddy. (Norwich Evening News) 
Striker Kevin Doyle, 31, does not think his move to Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids will hinder his chances with the Republic of Ireland. (Irish Times) 
Centre-half Sebastian Coates, 24, says it was an "easy" decision to leave Liverpool this summer and rejoin Sunderland on a permanent basis. (Sunderland Echo) 
Five Championship clubs have expressed interest in Sunderland's 25-year-old winger Will Buckley. (Shields Gazette) 
Cardiff City striker Kenwyne Jones, 30, missed a friendly against Bournemouth amid reports of a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday. (Wales Online) 

Best of social media

#winningteam

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas looks to be getting on well with new signing Radamel Falcao, posting on Instagram: #winningteam 
The same haircut, but the smile seems to have disappeared. Having signed a new contract,