Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Manchester United and Birmingham City target Maxi Lopez could be heading to the Premier League this summer from Italian side Catania.
  (talkSPORT)


• Arsenal and Tottenham have been put on red alert after reports in France claimed coveted striker Gervinho has rejected a new deal at Lille.
  (talkSPORT)


• Chelsea are bracing themselves for a £25m bid from AC Milan for midfielder Michael Essien.
  (Metro)


• Sunderland and West Brom are locked in a battle to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Simon Vukcevic.
  (talkSPORT)


• AC Milan will make an £18m bid to entice Michael Essien from Chelsea this summer and could also offer a player part-exchange.
  (The Mirror)


• Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, who has been linked with Chelsea and Tottenham, has opened the door to a move to the Premier League.
  (The Mirror)


• Aston Villa, Blackburn and Sunderland have approached West Ham about striker Demba Ba.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez and Chelsea frontman Didier Drogba could be swapping clubs this summer, according to reports.
  (The Mirror)


• Liverpool are lining up a bid for Wigan midfielder James McCarthy, having failed to sign him from Hamilton two years ago.
  (Daily Mail)


• Newcastle manager Alan Pardew hopes to lure Ipswich's in-demand teenager Connor Wickham to St James' Park, having worked with him previously at Reading.
  (Daily Mail)


• Blackburn's highly rated 19-year-old defender Phil Jones has given a hint where his future may lie by saying "Arsenal play the prettiest football in the Premier League".
  (The Independent)


• Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker could leave for free in the summer after his agent revealed there had been no talks over a new contract with the Midlands club since November.
  (The Sun)

• Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is losing his battle to recover from a hamstring injury in time for the FA Cup final on 14 May.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen could make a remarkable return at Stoke in the Premier League on Sunday. The Belgian has been out since August because of an Achilles tendon injury.
  (The Mirror)


• West Ham have drawn up a seven-man shortlist to replace Avram Grant as manager - Neil Warnock, Paul Lambert, Malky Mackay, Chris Hughton, Slaven Bilic, Ian Holloway and Martin O'Neill.
  (The Guardian)


• Manchester United and Barcelona will only receive about 25,000 tickets each for the Champions League final at Wembley on 28 May.
  (The Times)


• Manchester City's Vincent Kompany, 25, says he wants to stay at the club for the rest of his career. "I have never been embraced as well as I have been here by the fans and country in general," said the Belgian defender.
  (The Independent)


• Hull owner Assem Allam wants to buy the KC Stadium from the local council and build a £100m sports village, which would include an Olympic-size swimming pool.
  (Daily Star)


• Fears are growing that midfielder Scott Parker could miss the rest of West Ham's season as they battle against relegation. He is set to have painkilling injections because of an Achilles tendon problem.
  (Daily Star)

• Prince William's spokesman has rejected claims by a Fifa member that he was invited to the Royal wedding as an enticement to vote for England's 2018 World Cup bid.
  (The Mirror)


• Kazakh footballer Armand Masimzhanov, who plays for FC Kairat, has been banned for life after an astonishing kung-fu kick on a rival.
  (Metro)


• Cricket chiefs fear the opening Test match between England and Sri Lanka in Cardiff at the end of the month could be played in an empty ground if Swansea and Cardiff make it to the Championship play-off final on the same bank holiday weekend.
  (The Mirror)