Bruce reckons hanging on to United starlet will be hard and other red-hot gossip

(03-12-2010) Danny Wellbeck's sensational form could price him out of making his loan from Manchester United into a permanent move, reckons Sunderland boss Steve Bruce. The 19-year-old has scored four goals in his last three games. “In terms of converting any loan player to a permanent signing, you have to accept it’s a fact of life that in most cases, the better they do, the less chance you have of getting them,” commented Bruce on Thursday. Elsewhere, Tottenham midfielder Giovani dos Santos could reject interest from clubs in Mexico to join Italian side Genoa; Manchester City are stepping up their interest in £12m-rated Sporting Lisbon centre-half Daniel Carrico; Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is in Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's sights after the Catalans' five-goal demolition of Real Madrid; and Liverpool have given boss Roy Hodgson three games to save his job as they consider bringing in former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard.