Big clubs eye Henderson

EUROSPORT-England new boy Jordan Henderson is set to see a fight for his signature between Manchester bosses Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini.
Andy Carroll may be grabbing all the headlines ahead of his England bow against France this evening, but there is another debutant who deserves his fair share of attention.
Sunderland midfielder Henderson will also start at Wembley tonight - and the highly-rated 20-year-old is apparently set to be the subject of a bidding war between the two big Manchester clubs.
Both United and City are tracking the Black Cats playmaker. Ferguson has marked him out as the umpteenth long-term replacement for Paul Scholes, while Mancini wants him to add some much-needed creativity to the centre of his midfield.
Ferguson's advantage in the race is that he is close to Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, his former captain at United, but City can outbid their local rivals with a £10 million fee and £60,000-a-week wage. (Daily Star)
Inevitably, though, Carroll hogs the majority of space on this morning's back pages, all splashed from yesterday's misty training session at the national stadium.
Many focus on how this is the striker's chance to prove his chequered recent past is behind him, with the Daily Telegraph claiming the 21-year-old is already in 'Last Chance Saloon' while The Times reckons 'Carroll faces test of nerve as Capello lays down law on behaviour'.
But The Sun reports that the target man's starting berth has upset his employers, Newcastle, who have sent an e-mail to the FA requesting their star man plays no part in proceedings.
Carroll picked up a groin injury in Saturday's goalless draw with Fulham, and did not train with the rest of the international squad on Monday.
The Magpies were previously involved in a club-versus-country row when Michael Owen was injured during the 2006 World Cup, and the club threatened to sue the FA for compensation. Plenty of people will be hoping he comes through tonight's friendly unscathed. (The Sun)
The Guardian bucks the England trend this morning, homing in instead on the Glazer family paying off Manchester United's £220m hedge fund debt. The paper's Owen Gibson and Daniel Taylor have attempted to crunch the numbers and have come up with the key questions: where did the Glazers find £220m? At what interest did they borrow it? And when does it need to be paid back? Don't expect answers to be forthcoming any time soon. (The Guardian)
Back in the world of transfers, Chelsea's defensive crisis could force them to spend big money on a new defender.
Centre-back Alex has been ruled out until the new year with an ankle injury, whilst club captain John Terry continues to be plagued with a nerve problem in his leg.
To that end, the club is considering shelling out £25m on Benfica defender David Luiz. It's either that or continue to play Paulo Ferreira in the middle, with more hilarious consequences. (Daily Mirror)
Aston Villa fans worried that yesterday's announcement of the signing of Robert Pires indicates a lack of ambition from the club in the transfer market can now rest easy.
Manager Gerard Houllier has dismissed any talk of signing Michael Owen, saying there was "no point", while hinting at taking Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema on loan.
Benzema has started just one match in La Liga for Jose Mourinho's team this season, and is consistently linked with a move to Manchester United - but Houllier is hoping that the same French connection that lured Pires could tempt the forward into a move to Birmingham.
Houllier said: "If Karim wants to come and play at Villa, we will take him tomorrow. We could give him playing time here."
Liverpool's new director of football strategy, Damien Comolli, is set to make his first impact on the transfer market by bringing in Real Sociedad's 19-year-old winger Antoine Griezmann.
The highly-rated left-sided attacker, who has scored three times for Real so far this term, could set the Reds back around £7m. (Daily Mail)
Finally, back at City, Mancini's mission to find a way of offloading unhappy striker Emmanuel Adebayor could see the Togolese move to Juventus on loan in January, with a view to a permanent £12m move in the summer.
That would see City make a £13m loss on the player they signed from Arsenal less than 18 months ago.