Manchester United scout Jim Lawlor is believed to have gone some way towards earning his Colombian Striker Monitoring proficiency badge by travelling to Spain over the weekend to keep tabs on Atlético Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, who seems certain to move on to pastures new over the summer. The lank-haired goal-getter scored twice for Los Colchoneros in their 5-0 demolition of Andalucian La Liga strugglers Granada to bring his tally for the season to 28 in all competitions. Lawlor's presence at the Estadio Vicente Calderón came at the end of a weekend which began with his colleague Sir Alex Ferguson scoffing at Spanish media reports that he might be interested in offering Javier Hernández in part exchange for Falcao. "Do you honestly believe that? You amaze me you people," harrumphed an affronted Ferguson at reporters who asked him if there was any truth to these outlandish reports that one football club might be on the verge of trying to buy a player from another football club.

Elsewhere in Spain, Barcelona's president, Sandro Rosell, has let it be known that his club wish to bring Borussia Dortmund centre half Mats Hummels to Camp Nou to help shore up a defence that has looked a mite porous and vulnerable in recent weeks. Although Manchester United are interested in bringing Hummels to Old Trafford, where he is seen as a potential long-term replacement for Rio Ferdinand, the player has already said he'd prefer a move to Barcelona. "My father and I would turn down about 99.9% of all the clubs in the world if they approached us," he told German newspaper Bild. "However, Barcelona are one out of two or three teams that could make me consider a summer transfer."

Hummels's German international team-mate André Schürrle also looks likely to sign up for his slice of the Premier League pie this summer, what with last week's speculation linking him to Chelsea refusing to go away. Today's Mirror reports that the Bayer Leverkusen striker's "people" were at Wembley yesterday to discuss his £20m summer move to Stamford Bridge with the club's technical director Michael Emenalo.

While the Rumour Mill doesn't like sticking its neb into the personal business of other folk, yesterday's news that Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley have postponed the wedding they had planned for June because of uncertainty over his football future would suggest that talk of him moving Stateside to join the MLS might not be wide of the mark. According to NBC broadcaster Arlo White, formerly of BBC 5 Live, LA Galaxy gaffer Bruce Arena has let it be known that he's on the verge of completing a third Designated Player signing who could be unveiled as early as next month. The signing in question was expected to be either Lampard or Real Madrid striker Kaká, but the postponement of Lampard's wedding would suggest the smart money ought to go on him moving across the Atlantic.

Indeed, White himself is blazing quite a trail in the USA, having moved over there to become the TV and radio voice of the Seattle Sounders FC in 2010, the Leicester native subsequently made the step up to NBC and is about to be announced as the main commentator on their Premier League coverage, which will be anchored by the delightful Rebecca Lowe, with the help of pundits Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe.

Out of the studio and back on the pitch, Big Sam wants to spring Jordan Rhodes from the Blackburn Rovers madhouse and offer him sanctuary in the comparatively serene surroundings of West Ham's Boleyn Ground. Since signing from Huddersfield for £8m last summer, the 23-year-old has bagged himself 24 goals for Rovers – no mean feat when you consider it's approximately one for each manager he's played under at Ewood Park.