Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Mario Balotelli's move to Manchester City is off because the Inter Milan striker has demanded £180,000-a-week in wages.
  (Daily Star)


• City are already making preparations should the Balotelli deal fall through, with Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan an alternative, according to Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo.
  (IM Scouting)


• Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed he is close to making Juventus' Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen his first big-money transfer capture of the summer. His arrival will pave the way for midfielder Javier Mascherano to leave the club.
  (The Mirror)


• Former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini - currently with AC Milan - is also on Liverpool's list of possible replacements for Mascherano.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsene Wenger is preparing a move for Everton playmaker Mikel Arteta in case he fails to prevent Cesc Fabregas from moving back to Barcelona in the summer.
  (caughtoffside)


• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to make a significant offer to bring Manchester City reserve keeper Joe Hart to the Emirates.
  (caughtoffside)


• Alternatively, Wenger is lining up a bid for Cagliari goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.
  (footylatest)


• Montpellier president Loulou Nicollin has slapped a 28m euro (£23m) price-tag on Bosnian defender Emir Spahic amidst reported interest from Arsenal.
  (IM Scouting)


• Stoke boss Tony Pulis hopes to beat both Liverpool and West Ham to the signing of Nice striker Loic Remy for £10m.
  (The Mirror)


• Pulis has also lined up a £4m bid for Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.
  (The Sun)


• West Ham boss Avram Grant is considering lining up a move for Hapoel Tel Aviv playmaker Gil Vermuth. Full story: caughtoffside.com The Hammers have revived their loan bid for Ajax striker Miralem Sulejmani and hope to conclude a deal within days.
  (The Mirror)


• Real Madrid will test Chelsea's resolve to keep Ashley Cole by bidding for the left-back in the next two weeks.
  (footylatest)


• Zenit St Petersburg are considering a £21m bid to take Chelsea defender Yury Zhirkov back to Russia.
  (Daily Mail)


• Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has targeted Shakhtar Donetsk defender Dario Srna to complete his summer spending.
  (Daily Mail)


• Manchester United will move for Hamburg's German attacking midfielder Piotr Trochowski if they fail to lure his international team-mate Mesut Ozil to Old Trafford from Werder Bremen.
  (caughtoffside)


• Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is lining up a shock move for Juventus midfielder Mauro Camoranesi.
  (The Mirror)


• AZ Alkmaar's Belgian striker Moussa Dembele has admitted that Birmingham are keen to sign him.
  (The Sun)


• Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is set to make a £1.5m move for Stoke striker James Beattie.
  (The Sun)


• Celtic boss Neil Lennon is making an ambitious move to take striker Craig Bellamy to Glasgow for the second time in a loan raid on Manchester City.
  (The Mirror)


• New Fulham boss Mark Hughes is willing to sanction the signing of defender Luke Young from Aston Villa but has snubbed the chance to sign his team-mate, midfielder Steve Sidwell.
  (The Mirror)


• Daniel Cousin is set to join the Hull exodus by completing a permanent move to Greek side Larissa. Meanwhile, Tottenham midfielder John Bostock is poised to agree a 12-month loan deal with the Tigers.
  (The Mirror)


• Bristol City have been told by Manchester United they can have Michael Owen on loan after an approach for Danny Welbeck is rebuffed.
  (Daily Mail)


• West Ham are poised to complete the £5m signing of highly rated New Zealand World Cup star Winston Reid. The 22-year-old defender is the mystery signing the Hammers have promised fans on their website.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will decide where to send midfielder Tom Cleverley on loan by the end of the week - with Sunderland confident of beating Bolton to the chase.
  (talkSPORT)


• Alternatively, Cleverley will spend the season on loan at Wigan after Latics manager Roberto Martinez won the race for his signature.
  (Daily Mail)


• Malaga have approached Liverpool in a bid to lure under-19 international striker Dani Pacheco back to La Liga.
  (ClickLiverpool)

• Goalkeeper David James will be the first casualty of England's World Cup debacle when coach Fabio Capello leaves him out of next week's friendly with Hungary.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is in line for a surprise call-up to Capello's England squad for the friendly with Hungary.
  (The Sun)


• The Premier League has rejected Capello's request for a winter break in the season to assist the national squad. Capello blamed extreme tiredness for the failure of so many of his top players to perform in the World Cup in South Africa.
  (Daily Star)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will today tell Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas to end his summer flirtation with Barcelona and commit his future to the north London club.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott is convinced that team-mate Fabregas will remain at the Emirates for the coming season.
  (The Sun)


• Manager Roy Hodgson is relieved Fernando Torres has pledged his future to Liverpool but admitted the club would not be able to turn down a massive bid for the Spain striker.
  (Daily Mail)


• Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted some of his Chelsea players will not be fit for the start of the season on 14 August. "The 10 players that only came back to us on July 26 need to have another two weeks of work," said Ancelotti. "After just eight days of training it is impossible to be fit."
  (The Sun)

• Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is ready to have a City tattoo done if he can steer the club to the title this season. Mancini already has a Sampdoria tattoo to commemorate winning Serie A with the Italian club.
  (The Mirror)


• Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has grown a moustache in an attempt to help build team spirit at St James Park for the coming season.
  (The Mirror)