Football News Roundup – 10/10/12

German star Mesut Ozil could be heading to England after falling out of favour with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.

The 23-year-old has underperformed in recent weeks, with Mourinho saying the playmaker 'lacks quality'.

And that could open the door to Manchester United and Liverpool, who have targeted Ozil in the past, even though the player himself has dismissed the notion.

Ozil said, "When you play for Real Madrid you cannot think of anything else."

"I know nothing and I have no reason to leave."

Another player the top Premier League clubs have been chasing for a while is Falcao. The Colombian, who astonished Chelsea with a stunning hat trick in the Uefa Super Cup last month, is wanted by both the Blues and Manchester City.

And now Atletico Madrid's chairman Miguel Angel Gil martin admits the club would benefit if the 26-year-olds £48m release clause was triggered. At such a hefty price tag, the two billionaire funded clubs will be the favourites to land Falcao next summer, though Atletico's fierce local rivals Real Madrid could also swoop for the star.

Brendan Rodgers has attacked Alan Shearer's analysis of midfielder Joe Allen, saying that the pundit has no clue how his Liverpool team operate.

Shearer criticised Allen on Match of the Day for being too conservative and for not getting the ball forward, a notion that Rodgers dismissed, saying that Allen serves an important role in his possession based football as he is one of the few players in the Premier League who excels at keeping the ball.

Rodgers said:

"Joe's role is to keep the ball and that, in Britain, is a special talent. It is why Paul Scholes is still playing at his age. It is such a rare talent for a midfielder to rarely give the ball away."

A thigh injury to Liverpool's defensive midfielder Lucas has forced Allen to play further back, but Rodgers has promised that upon his return Allen will become more involved in orchestrating the reds attacks.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner