Rumour Mill: Falcao, Cavani and Benteke up for grabs, Alonso final piece in United jigsaw Is Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso the man the end United's midfield woes? CHRISTMAS is just a few days away and the Rumour Mill is in full swing ahead of the opening of the January transfer window. Spanish paper El Confidencial claim that Manchester United bid for Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso on the last day of the summer transfer window, and will come back in January as they attempt to bolster their suspect midfield. The Spain midfielder's Madrid deal runs out and the end of the season, and while there has been much speculation that he will sign a new contract, the club are concerned the 32-year-old could leave for free at the end of the season. United appear frontrunners, but the paper claims Chelsea and former club Liverpool are also interested. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists he is in no rush to sign Luis Suarez to a new contract but admits he plans to build a team around him. Uruguay international Suarez has two-and-a-half years to run on his current deal but Liverpool are keen to secure his presence at Anfield for an extended period. Managing director Ian Ayre flew to Barcelona on Wednesday to speak to the player's agent Pere Guardiola about the matter. There's nothing to report on that. At the moment he is just focusing on his football," Rodgers said. That (the contract) will all take care of itself, I don't think there's any rush at this moment in time with anything on that. Suarez has been in stunning form since returning to action after completing a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic last season. The 26-year-old has scored 17 goals in 12 matches, including hat-tricks against West Brom and Norwich. Sky Sports. Tis the season for superstar strikers. If the Rumour Mill is to believed, plenty of top line forwards could be on their way in the January transfer window. Chelsea seem the obvious suitor for a big name hoping to make their move to the Premier League and names like Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao and Hulk have been thrown up. All three would cost big bucks but that's never been a problem for Blues owner Roman Abramovich. Aston Villa's Belgian striker Christian Benteke could do with a sea change. Following their Champions League elimination, Porto could look to offload Jackson Martinez, a man Liverpool expressed interested in several seasons ago. A sea change could be exactly what Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke needs to reignite his inner Beast. The UK press have again linked Mourinho and Chelsea, but really, Jose could already have a raging Belgium striker banging in goals for him if he wanted. The agent of Frank de Boer has claimed Tottenham have expressed an interest in making the Ajax coach their new boss. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was at the club's training ground on Thursday as he considers candidates to replace Andre Villas-Boas. Tim Sherwood took charge of the team for their Capital One Cup defeat to West Ham on Wednesday night after Villas-Boas was sacked in the wake of their 5-0 Premier League thrashing at home to Liverpool. His agent has claimed there is interest from White Hart Lane, but there has been no contact between the two clubs yet. Guido Albers told Voetbal International: "Through a number of sources it has become clear to me Spurs are interested, but that club haven't contacted Ajax so far. So we can't say much about it now. Frank isn't thinking about it. He is fully focused on Ajax. Manchester United are taking a close look at highly-rated Bulgarian defender Stefan Velkov. Velkov, who turned 17 last Thursday on December 12, is at Carrington training with United's U21 squad in the hope of impressing staff and securing a deal. United face competition from Juventus and Inter Milan who are also keen to take a look at the teenager. Despite his tender years, Velkov has played 17 first team games this season for his club Slavia Sofia and has already been called up to the Bulgaria national squad. Velkov is a stylish centre-back who is strong in the air, he has represented his country at U16 level up to the U21s where he has been capped five times and scored one goal. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will open talks with West Bromwich Albion about becoming their new boss - after snubbing a rival job, according to the Mirror. The Manchester United legend is expected to meet with the Baggies on Friday as Norwegian side Molde clear his exit. The prolific striker is hot property after leading Molde to their third Norwegian Cup this season. Molde chief executive Tarje Nordstrand Jacobsen admitted earlier this week he had received a number of enquiries about Solskjaer. He said: "I can confirm that we have received formal requests, but will not say when they arrived or where they came from. Ole has a name that will always make him attractive. And he has a standing in England that makes him often a candidate there. Newcastle, who have been scouting in France at Nice and Renne, are keen on Olympiakos striker Konstantinos Mitrogolou. The Greece international has also been linked with Liverpool and has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season. Manchester United manager David Moyes wouldn't mind seeing this deal go through - his side face Olympiakos in the Champions League last 16 in February.