Real Madrid and Barcelona fight over Cesc Fabregas

Arsenal's hunt for a striker in the January transfer window is already turning into a soap opera, with any number of Europe's top hitmen being linked with a move to the Emirates. Former Manchester United centre forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, currently with Real Madrid, was one of the first names to be mentioned as a replacement for the injured Robin van Persie but Arsene Wenger has now ruled out a move for the Dutchman. Van Nistelrooy would not have been a popular choice among Gunners fans after his famous bust up with Martin Keown in 2003.

More likely is a move for Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic. The 19-year-old Spaniard has slipped down the pecking order at the Nou Camp and the Daily Star reports that Arsenal have already made an initial inquiry and would be prepared to offer up to £8m for the player.

Other names in the frame are Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko and French based strikers Andre-Pierre Gignac of Toulouse and Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh. However, Wenger is notoriously thrifty and has baulked at the price tags placed on the players' heads.

Wenger also has other problems on his plate, Cesc Fabregas could soon be on his way out of the Emirates Stadium if a couple of Sunday tabloids are to be believed. Two of them carried reports describing the 22-year-old Arsenal captain as being at the centre of a bidding war between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

According to the Mail on Sunday: "Real president Florentino Perez is reported to be planning a £50m bid" for the Arsenal captain when he considers his future at the end of the 2009/10 season, while the Mirror relayed rumours in the Spanish press that Barcelona "vice president Sandro Rosell has already received a positive response after making discrete enquiries about the move".

It's not the first time Fabregas's name has been linked with Barcelona, the club for whom he started his career as a teenager. But at the start of the season the player's father, Francesc, told a Spanish radio station: "The football world is crazy and you never know, but today I think Cesc will stay at Arsenal. He is super committed to Arsenal and he is really eager to do things there."

Elsewhere, the Mail on Sunday claimed Manchester United were keen to sign Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko, whose goal-scoring prowess in the Bundesliga has attracted the attention of several European clubs. The Bosnian international will have the chance to impress his English suitors tomorrow when the two clubs meet in the Champions League, and United assistant Mike Phelan is already a fan.

"He appeals because he is a tall, skillful boy and in some ways an ideal player for the English league," Phelan was quoted as saying. "He has stature, his feet are good and he is producing some very good performances... I'm sure there are numerous clubs looking at him. Are we one of them? We are looking at talent all the time and we are in there with the rest of them."

Is Patrick Vieira about to return to the Premier League? Yes, if the report in yesterday's News of the World is correct. According to the red-top, Chelsea want to bring the 33-year-old former Arsenal midfielder back to London, and Vieira is keen to move having struggled to impress this season with Inter Milan.

Vieira enjoyed nine glorious years with the Gunners before moving to Juventus in 2005 and then Inter the following year with whom he's won three Serie A titles. But the Frenchman's star has waned this season with Inter boss Jose Mourinho leaving Vieira out of his starting line-up most weeks. With Vieira desperate to make France's World Cup squad, Chelsea are reportedly set to "offer the tough-tackling midfield star an 18-month deal worth around £50,000 a week to beat off interest from Arsenal and Tottenham".