Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Manchester City have offered to make Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole, who becomes a free agent this summer, the Premier League's best-paid player with a four-year contract worth £40m.
  (Daily Express)


• Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has pleaded with manager Sir Alex Ferguson not to sell him.
  (The Sun)


• United striker Wayne Rooney is Real Madrid's number one transfer target this summer and the Spanish giants want to use winger Cristiano Ronaldo to help lure his former team-mate to the Bernabeu.
  (The Mirror)


• Aston Villa could face a battle to keep James Milner and Ashley Young at the club if they finish outside the top four.
  (The Sun)


• "We'll give Rafael Benitez cash to splash," says new Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.
  (Daily Mail)


• Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has welcomed the speculation linking Arsenal with a £21m double swoop for Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega this summer.
  (The Independent)


• Martinez is considering a £1.5m move for Lens defender Marco Ramos.
  (Daily Mail)


• Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia could leave the club in the summer after Arsene Wenger refused to back his number one.
  (The Mirror)


• Blackburn Rovers are closing in on a £5m deal for Poland striker Robert Lewandowski.
  (The Mirror)


• Fulham look set to win the race for Portsmouth's £4m-rated defender Marc Wilson.
  (Daily Mail)


• Portsmouth and Middlesbrough are at odds over Gary O'Neil's final transfer fee. The midfielder has played 99 games for Boro since his move from Fratton Park in 2007 and Pompey are due £1m when he completes 100 games.
  (Daily Mail)


• Sunderland boss Steve Bruce insists goalkeeper Craig Gordon will not leave the Stadium of Light this summer.
  (Daily Mail)


• Aberdeen are set to move for Kilmarnock striker Kevin Kyle in the summer, having missed out on the target man in January.
  (The Sun)

• Manchester City are demanding an official explanation after referee Martin Atkinson was drafted in to officiate Saturday's derby against Manchester United as a late replacement for Steve Bennett. Atkinson was the referee who played six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the controversial reverse fixture at Old Trafford last September.
  (The Guardian)


• City boss Roberto Mancini will hold talks with striker Carlos Tevez after the United match following the Argentine's criticism of his training methods.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• United manager Sir Alex Ferguson rates Saturday's meeting at Eastlands as the biggest derby of his career.
  (The Sun)


• The Middle East consortium bidding to buy Liverpool claim co-owner George Gillett reneged on a £420m takeover after a deal was agreed.
  (The Mirror)


• Any party interested in buying Liverpool must commit to building a new stadium, while new chairman Martin Broughton has assured fans that there is no need to sell star players such as midfielder Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres.
  (The Times)


• Torres is doubtful for Monday's game against West Ham after a planned return to Spain for further consultation on his troublesome right knee was delayed by the closure of British airspace.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says Tottenham can challenge for the Premier League title next season.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his trophyless side are the only big four club not in decline.
  (Daily Express)


• England coach Fabio Capello has not ruled out a return to Real Madrid after this summer's World Cup.
  (The Sun)


• Wolves manager Mick McCarthy feels Fulham counterpart Roy Hodgson is a contender for this season's League Managers Association manager of the year award.
  (The Sun)


• Former Watford and Reading manager Brendan Rodgers is in line to replace Paul Ince after the former England midfielder resigned as boss on Friday.
  (Daily Mail)


• Dick Advocaat, who resigned as coach of Belgium on Thursday just six months after taking on the role, looks set to become the new Russia coach.
  (The Mirror)


• Southampton boss Alan Pardew refused to comment yesterday on reports linking him with the vacant Celtic job.
  (The Times)

• Portsmouth midfielder Aaron Mokoena has revealed how as a child his mother dressed him as a girl to escape a massacre in the township they lived in during apartheid South Africa.
  (The Guardian)


• Pompey midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng faces a 630-mile drive to make Sunday's game against Aston Villa after being stranded in Germany by the current air traffic chaos.
  (The Sun)


• Airline passengers stranded at Cologne/Bonn airport were offered free tickets to watch FC Koln's Bundesliga match against VfL Bochum on Friday evening in return for showing their airline ticket.
  (Reuters)


• Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda believes his hairstyle helped revive Chelsea's season. After defeats by Manchester City and Inter Milan, the France international switched to his now signature braids and he has helped put the Blues on course for a Premier League and FA Cup double.
  
  "I went to see my friend who does my hair and said I needed to change it," said Malouda. "I said I need to go back to basics and be a warrior. After that I scored two doubles, so there's no way I'm changing it now."
  (The Sun)


• Arsenal's Russian forward Andrey Arshavin says his wife Yulia loves London and wants to become a British citizen.
  (The Sun)


• But Arshavin himself cannot stand living in Britain despite being paid £80,000 a week - he finds it "difficult to adjust" and is homesick for his native St Petersburg, where his life is "more comfortable".
  (Daily Star)


• Bolton defender Gary Cahill had a rib removed to help him recover from a career-threatening blood clot. His team-mates have been taking the mickey by going for Chinese meals and sending him phone pictures of spare ribs.
  (The Sun)