Thursday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Manchester City target Isco is on the verge of signing a contract extension at Malaga, according to the club's director of football Mario Husillos.



- Wilfried Zaha is expected to finalise his move to Manchester United within the next few days.



- Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has joined Stuttgart on loan for the rest of the season.



- Pepe Reina's agent is flying to Merseyside for talks over the Liverpool goalkeeper's future at Anfield, according to the Daily Mirror.



- Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers wants to raid his former club Swansea for £8million-rated defender Ashley Williams, according to Dailymail.



- Chesterfield chief executive Chris Turner says the club are willing to listen to offers from Liverpool and Everton for midfield sensation Tendayi Darikwa.



- Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who has been linked with Manchester United, has emerged as a target for rivals Manchester City, according to the Daily Mirror.



- Everton defender Sylvain Distin has signed a new one-year contract extension which keeps him at Goodison Park until next summer.



- Newcastle's are on the brink of completing the signing of another French signing after Toulouse claimed they had agreed a deal for Moussa Sissoko.



- Massadio Haidara has completed his move to Newcastle, becoming the fourth Frenchman manager Alan Pardew has signed this month.



- Lewis Holtby is heading for Tottenham, but Schalke have blocked a second attempt to put a January deal in place.



- Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has received no contact from Queens Park Rangers amid reported interest in Titus Bramble.



- Peter Odemwingie has been told that he will not be allowed to leave West Brom during the current transfer window, the club's new sporting and technical director, Richard Garlick, has confirmed.



- QPR manager Harry Redknapp hopes to tie up the signing of Rolando by the weekend.



- Harry Redknapp was at Parc des Princes on Wednesday night to examine defensive midfield transfer target Etienne Capoue of Toulouse.



- Emmanuel Pogatetz is on his way back to England - with Fulham reportedly in the hunt to land the former Middlesbrough defender.



- Reading boss Brian McDermott has once again attempted to distance the club from a move for Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin.



- West Ham midfielder Momo Diame insists he is happy to stay with the club despite the release clause in his contract.



- Chelsea midfielder Ulises Davila says he needs to get a good season on loan at Spanish side Sabadell under his belt before he returns to Stamford Bridge.



- Premier League clubs, including Aston Villa and Wigan, are on alert after Luciano Becchio handed in a transfer request at Leeds United.



- Leeds and Wolves are in a two-way fight to land Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock.



- Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente has agreed to join Juventus on a four-year contract at the end of the season.



- AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi feels the club have been priced out of moves for Mario Balotelli and Kaka.



- Barcelona does not intend to put Víctor Valdés up for sale in the summer. The club has decided to allow the goalkeeper – whose contract expires in 2014 - to make up his own mind, meaning that Valdés must be the one to propose an offer to Barça.



- FC Groningen are trying to price Virgil van Dijk out of a move to England - with Brighton and Sunderland increasingly frustrated in their attempts to land the young defender.



- Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila has completed a £9.6 million move to Russian outfit Rubin Kazan, according to the BBC.



- Bordeaux are plotting a move for West Ham forward Modibo Maiga, according to reports in France.



- Mainz striker Adam Szalai has played down talk of a January move to Arsenal.



- Celtic striker Mo Bangura has joined Elfsborg on loan for the 2013 Swedish season, his new club confirmed today.



- Birmingham City have asked agents charged with trying to sell keeper Jack Butland to ensure that a large chunk of any transfer fee is paid up front.



- Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Millwall striker Darius Henderson for an undisclosed fee.



- Sky Sports understands Blackpool are poised to sign Nottingham Forest striker Matt Derbyshire on loan.



- Leeds have revealed striker Luciano Becchio has requested a move away from Elland Road.



- Sunderland midfielder Adam Reed has joined League One side Portsmouth on loan.



- Cardiff manager Malky Mackay has confirmed he is weighing up a move for midfielder Simon Lappin after he was released by Norwich earlier this week.



- Crawley have revealed negotiations have broken down with Bristol City over the transfer of Kyle McFadzean.



- Bristol City have revealed exclusively to Sky Sports that they have rejected an offer for Albert Adomah.



- Barnet have completed the signing of striker Harry Crawford from non-league Dartford.



- Homegrown defender Dale Bennett has left Vicarage Road after cancelling his contract by mutual consent and joined Forest Green Rovers.



- Colin McMenamin has signed for Morton after being released by Ross County.



- Ahead of the new Airtricity League season, Shelbourne have added to their squad with the signing of Graham Gartland.



- Flamengo agreed the loan signing of attacking midfielder Carlos Eduardo on Thursday afternoon, after finally settling terms on an 18-month deal with both the player and Rubin Kazan.



- Philadelphia Union sign midfielder and Harrisburg native Alex Mendoza.

Arsenal hopeful of Cazorla & Nuri Sahin deals

Arsenal are working on deals to sign Santi Cazorla from Malaga permanently and fellow midfielder Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid.

The transfer of Cazorla, a 27-year-old Spain international, is complicated by Malaga's financial problems and a possible takeover of the club.



Turkey international Sahin, 23, will join on a season-long basis if the player and clubs reach an agreement.

Arsenal hope both deals can be sealed before the new campaign gets under way.

The Gunners start at home to Sunderland on 18 August.

They have already signed Germany forward Lukas Podolski from Cologne and France striker Olivier Giroud from Montpellier.

But doubts remain over the future of captain Robin van Persie, who has said he will not extend his current contract which expires in 2013.

The pursuit of Cazorla and Sahin is unrelated to Van Persie but has been accelerated by news that Jack Wilshere will not play before October as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.

Cazorla, who joined Malaga from Villarreal last summer, stands at 5ft 6ins and featured for Spain at the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.



Real Madrid signed Sahin from Borussia Dortmund on a six-year contract in May 2011 but he has struggled to establish himself at the Bernabeu and Real boss Jose Mourinho would let him leave on loan.

Van Nistelrooy announces retirement

Malaga striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35.



The former Holland international has suffered a difficult year since arriving in the south of Spain from Hamburg last summer, scoring just five times in 32 appearances.



However, he did help guide Malaga to their first ever top-four finish and thereby ensure Champions League football for the first time in their history.



Van Nistelrooy told a press conference on Sunday: "Yesterday was my final game as a professional footballer. I wanted to play in the Champions League, but it is the moment to leave.



"I have arrived at my physical limit and I can't play at the maximum level. I couldn't have had a better send-off than this.



"I feel happy that I am the one taking this decision. I would like to thank Malaga, the technical and medical staff for an unforgettable year.



"I am proud to have won collective and individual titles, but my greatest satisfaction was to be able to work day after day, year after year."



Van Nistelrooy also paid tribute to those people who supported him during his career, which included spells with PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid.



"I would like to thank Malaga, my team-mates, the coaches, the physios, (sporting director) Antonio Fernandez, Fernando Hierro and the fans for this unforgettable year," said the Dutchman.



"I would also like to thank the fans of Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Hamburg."



Van Nistelrooy's career began in his homeland with Den Bosch before moves to Heerenveen and PSV Eindhoven, where he made his name.



After securing the Eredivisie Golden Boot in both the 1998/99 and 1999/2000 seasons, he seemed set to join Manchester United in a near £19 million move.



However, United called off the transfer due to fitness concerns and within days Van Nistelrooy ruptured cruciate knee ligaments during a training session.



That injury did not dissuade United manager Sir Alex Ferguson though, as he went back for Van Nistelrooy the following summer and was duly rewarded as the striker delivered 150 goals in 219 games in his five seasons in Manchester and guided them to the title in 2002/03.



However, Van Nistelrooy's time in north-west England ended when he fell down the pecking order and was snapped up by Real Madrid in the summer of 2006.



He hit the ground running in the Spanish capital as 53 goals in two seasons saw Real capture back-to-back Primera Division titles.



But once again injuries took their toll as he missed almost the entire 2008/09 campaign with a meniscus problem and then found himself behind Raul, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema the following season.



An 18-month spell at Hamburg followed before returning to Spain and Malaga for his final season as a professional.



Van Nistelrooy also bagged 35 goals in 70 international appearances for Holland, including strikes at Euro 2004, World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008 and is the second highest all-time goalscorer in the Champions League with 54 from 81 appearances.



His final appearance for Malaga resulted in a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon.