The Gossip returns

Goodbye, football season. Hello, silly season. The Gossip is back.

What better way to spend the summer than by charting every single transfer whisper in this increasingly rumour-riddled world of football?

David Gill has already admitted that this summer is likely to be “busier than usual”, and the recent departures of Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar, Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville yield a pressing need to strengthen the Reds’ ranks.

Sir Alex openly admits he wants to bring in Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea, and scores more players have been linked in recent days and weeks. As of tomorrow we’ll be charting each new rumour and totting up United’s purported activity in terms of comings and goings.

Last year’s Gossip highlighted the scale of tittle-tattle around United. In all, 106 players were tipped to join the Reds, at a combined cost of £1.877billion. None of them did.

This year looks likely to be different. There will be bunkum, hogwash, twaddle, baloney and, on occasion, complete codswallop, but there will also be gleaming nuggets of truth and excitement. It's the perfect way to follow what looks set to be one of the most intriguing transfer windows of recent years.