Sunday's football rumour mill

Real Madrid are continuing their pursuit of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and are set to offer £100 million in transfer fees and wages to land the World Footballer of the Year.

United have previously resisted all approaches for Ronaldo from the Spanish giants so a huge offer will have to be made to persuade Sir Alex to part with the winger.

Another player on Real's radar is Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. He could join Madrid or former club Barcelona in the summer.

The Gunners are reportedly thinking about cashing-in as they believe he may have got too big for the team.

Arsene Wenger will try and bolster his defence next season by adding Everton's Joleon Lescott.

Liverpool will rekindle their interest in Aston Villa's Gareth Barry in the summer, hoping to land the midfielder for a cut-price £8 million as he will be in the last year of his current contract.

The Reds are also interested in Stewart Downing should Middlesbrough get relegated.

However, they face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for the £15 million-rated winger.

Spurs are also in the hunt for Real Madrid left-back Gabriel Heinze, while they are looking to offload midfielder Tom Huddlestone.

Newcastle are believed to be readying a £6 million bid for the England under-21 international.

The Magpies are also set to bid £4 million for Celtic keeperArtur Boruc, despite his case of the dropsies against Northern Ireland yesterday.