The benefit of seemingly unlimited riches seems to be making Mark Hughes think about signings of Fantasy Football proportions, and this has led him to reportedly be aiming for this truly legendary former Arsenal star!

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Mark Hughes will try to prise Thierry Henry from Barcelona when the transfer window opens in January. Former Arsenal striker Henry is anticipate ed to leave the Nou Camp after failing to make an impact in Spain and Manchester City boss Hughes has asked to be kept informed of developments.

City desperately need a reliable forward to complement their attacking midfielders because Hughes and his staff feel Brazilian Jo, 20, will not come into his own for another year at least.

Henry, 31, has been at Barcelona for a little over a season but has never settled and is keen to return to England. Last night Hughes stressed City fans should be patient as he builds a team to challenge for honours. (Daily Mail)

There are many who believe that Thierry hasn’t made an impact at the Camp Nou, but that would be a tad unfair, given the fact that the Frenchman has start ed managed 21 goals in 44 start s. However, it is true that he doesn’t appear to be a stonewall start er under Pepe Guardiola, and that in itself has led to speculation that he may be on his way.

The £14m striker is of course a Premier League legend, but would he return to the league to anyone other than Arsenal? That would be a tough decision for Henry to make, but I see no harm in Sparky trying to secure this deal as it would be a great signing. Do Manchester City fans think that they could snare the World Cup winner?

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Rafa Benitez was dreading the possible news that defender Martin Skrtel could be out for the season, but after having his knee analyze d today , it appears that Skrtel will not have to have surgery and could be back to help Liverpool by December!

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Liverpool have revealed defender Martin Skrtel does not need an operation on his right knee and should return to action by Christmas.

The Slovakian centre-back damaged his posterior cruciate ligament in Sunday’s 3-2 win at Manchester City and had a scan this afternoon.

Reds spokesman Ian Cotton said : “Martin was analyze d by a specialist today , who confirmed the player does not require surgery and is anticipate ed to be back playing by Christmas.”

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will undoubtedly be buoyed by the news although he's confident the likes of Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger can fill the breach adequately. (ESPNSoccernet)

The news just keeps getting better for Liverpool! After dreading the idea of not having Skrtel for the second half push; however, it now appears that Benitez will have all three of his central defenders at his disposal when the club will surely be going through the toughest part of the schedule that could include Champions League and Premier League matches in the same week.

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After crashing out of the UEFA Cup and drawing 2-2 to an anemic Newcastle squad in the same week, Everton boss David Moyes and his squad are currently find themselves hanging by a thread in the league race. With a paper thin lineup and little cash the spend in January, the forecast appears to be extremely bleak going forward. But things could be changing at Everton. It appears the club could be calling themselves Manchester City II before you know it!

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A Middle Eastern consortium have emerged as the favourites to purchase Everton and are preparing to make an official bid within the next fortnight but an Indian investor has also registered his interest. (The Times)

Now THIS is the type of news a club wants to hear! While it still appears to be in the early stage, the news of a potential sale to a rich Middle Eastern consortium could be just the type of news Everton need to get back in the race.

What do Everton supporters think of the news? Have you heard anything about an official bid coming next week?

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Studs Up today riffs on Tottenham and the utter lack of cogent communication between Gaffer and Director of Football.

…And believe it or not it isn’t just Tottenham, all over Europe clubs are making an utter pig’s ear of this football lark . Witness Exhibit A, Bayrn Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger making himself look like a complete plank, courtesy of The Offside.

Over at The Spoiler, meanwhile, they focus on the motley crew of below par commentators that the BBC has assembled…Their treatise asserts that we deserve better than Shearer’s chuntering on - we couldn’t agree more!

Dimitar Berbatov, the Manchester United forward, was at the centre of everything for his team yesterday, turning in a performance that the Times described as “a masterclass”. Does this signal an end to his teething problems?

When Berbatov first turned up at United, he waltzed around with the indifferent air of a rich Edwardian bachelor, and many a grizzled journo start ed asking whether he was worth the 30million quid that the Lord of the Ferg had to shell out for him. Part of Berba’s haughty attitude might have something to do with the fact that Ferg personally pic ked him up on deadline day at the airport and acted as his chauffeur - this is just a guess - but to Berba (not the most humble of players at the ideal of times) this might have given the Bulgarian delusions of grandeur. Even though the Bulgarian’s debut was marked with an assist, setting up Carlos Tevez against Liverpool, his early form was pretty grotty, especially for his price tag.

Things looked to be getting more positive in midweek when Berba bagged a double against Aalborg; does his performance against Blackburn mean he has turned the corner??