Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Liverpool will have to cough up £20m for Carlton Cole. West Ham are willing to sell but they want a top price as they would have little time before the new season kicks off to sign a replacement striker.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea have beaten off Manchester United to land highly rated Burkina Faso prospect Bertrand Traore. The midfielder, who is only 14, shone at the Under-17 World Cup last year - where he became the youngest player to appear in the finals.
  (The Sun)


• Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is considering making a £14m offer for two Aston Villa players, with England defender Stephen Warnock, 28, and Bulgaria midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, 31, his targets.
  (caughtoffside)


• Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland is putting his proposed move to Aston Villa - as part of a swap deal with Villa's James Milner - on hold as he waits to see whether Tottenham will make a late bid.
  (The Mirror)


• Aston Villa are preparing to bring Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to Villa Park as part of a triangle of moves, with Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer joining Arsenal and Villa's Brad Friedel moving to Craven Cottage.
  (The Mirror)


• Tottenham are looking to offload striker Peter Crouch. The England player was offered to West Ham as part of an unsuccessful proposed swap deal for Scott Parker but Liverpool and Everton could be interested.
  (The Mirror)


• Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp has been to watch France striker Loic Remy and Nice's £13m-rated man is now the Tottenham manager's number one target.
  (The Mirror)


• Everton sent scouts to watch Remy make his France debut against Norway on Wednesday but the Merseyside club were not alone, with Aston Villa, Sunderland, Chelsea and Spurs all represented in the stands.
  (Daily Mail)


• New Fulham boss Mark Hughes wants Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz to spearhead his attack. The 28-year-old player fears he could miss out on Roberto Mancini's 25-man squad and would be keen to link up with the manager who originally brought him to England from Bayern Munich three years ago.
  (Daily Mail)


• Manchester United are interested in signing £9m-rated Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, 17, from Anderlecht.
  (caughtoffside)


• West Ham manager Avram Grant is looking to snap up Manchester City's Brazilian striker Jo, 23, should he lose the services of English forward Carlton Cole.
  (caughtoffside)


• Germany coach Joachim Loew has urged his World Cup star Mesut Ozil to reject Manchester United in favour of Spanish giants Barcelona. "You have to remember that playing for Barcelona is very special for a footballer," said Loew.
  (Daily Star)


• Stoke striker James Beattie is in Glasgow for talks with Rangers and looks set to seal a £1.5m switch to the Scottish Premier League champions.
  (Daily Record)


• St Mirren will not pursue their interest in former Dundee United midfielder Greg Cameron. The 22-year-old, released by United at the end of the season, had been on trial with Saints - but manager Danny Lennon is looking to strengthen other areas of his squad.
  (Daily Record)


• Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano is close to leaving Seville for Marseille. Spanish newspaper AS said that the 29-year-old - who has been linked with Tottenham, Manchester United and AC Milan - is on the verge of accepting a three-year deal.
  (IM Scouting)

• Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is so eager to take over the vacant managerial role at Aston Villa that he is willing to lower his high salary demands.
  (The Mirror)


• Aston Villa may give caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald an extended spell in charge to buy themselves some time to find a successor to Martin O'Neill. Villa have been inundated with applications since O'Neill quit but are determined not to be rushed into a decision and are now prepared to let MacDonald remain in the post for a couple of weeks, possibly even longer.
  (The Guardian)


• Striker Craig Bellamy has ruined any chance he had of being named in Manchester City's 25-man squad after criticising boss Roberto Mancini. Mancini is said to be seething over Bellamy's outburst, in which he claimed he had not spoken to his manager in six months and laid into the Italian for his perceived aloofness.
  (The Mirror)

• Sunderland manager and former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce had to borrow a Leeds tie to be allowed into the VIP area at Elland Road on Tuesday to watch his son, Alex, make his debut for the club. Derby boss Nigel Clough was refused entry last weekend because he was wearing a tracksuit.
  (Daily Mail)