Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Real Madrid are close to sealing a £30m move for Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, 29, according to Real's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who said: "I am confident he can be a Real Madrid player next year".
  (The Sun)


• Meanwhile, Chelsea have pulled out of the race to sign Werder Bremen's Mesut Ozil, 21, with the Stamford Bridge outfit instead keen on fellow German midfielder Sami Khedira, 23, who plays for Stuttgart.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea will challenge Manchester United and Manchester City to sign Italian striker Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan but they will have to outbid United, who are willing to pay £28m - £2m more than City have offered for the 19-year-old.
  (Daily Star)


• Robinho and Craig Bellamy are expected to lead an £80m exodus from Manchester City this summer, with Brazilian forward Robinho's likely destination being AC Milan following his spell on loan at Santos. Tottenham are interested in Wales striker Bellamy and his City team-mate, defender Micah Richards.
  (The Times)


• Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano is eager to join former Anfield boss Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan next season, with the Argentina captain's agent claiming a move to the Italian side would be a "dream" for the former West Ham man.
  (The Mirror)


• Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is planning a £6m bid for Monaco's 25-year-old South Korean forward Park Chu-Young.
  (The Sun)


• Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is ready to launch ­an £8m bid to lure Liverpool's Dutch forward Ryan Babel to St Andrew's.
  (Daily Star)


• Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has has made a second bid to sign Paraguay striker Nelson Valdez from Borussia Dortmund.
  (The Mirror)


• Bolton boss Owen Coyle is set to sign Real Madrid left-back Marcos Alonso in a £2.2m deal, with the club ready to fly him straight to the club's training camp in the United States.
  (The Mirror)


• Huddersfield have approached Leicester with a £300,000 offer for 34-year-old striker Steve Howard.
  (Daily Mail)


• Lee Trundle has rejected offers from League One sides Yeovil and Swindon to make a surprise switch to Welsh Premier League outfit Neath AFC. The 33-year-old striker was released by Bristol City at the end of last season.
  (Daily Mail)

• England manager Fabio Capello will tell the Football Association he wants Italian coaches Mauro Tassotti and Walter Zenga added to his backroom staff to replace Stuart Pearce and Ray Clemence.
  (Daily Star)


• Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs is considering ending his career in Major League Soccer in the United States, with the 36-year-old likely to retire from playing in the Premier League once his contract runs out at Old Trafford at the end of the season.
  (The Sun)


• Portsmouth will withdraw their offer of a player-coach role to England goalkeeper David James unless he can give them an answer in the next 24 hours.
  (Daily Mail)


• Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva has been thrown an Anfield lifeline after new manager Roy Hodgson assured him he still has a future at the club.
  (Daily Mail)


• Everton manager David Moyes insists South Africa winger Steven Pienaar is not for sale, despite the player being linked to several Premier League clubs, including Tottenham.
  (The Mirror)


• Former Bayern Munich manager Otmar Hitzfeld is in informal talks with Fulham over their vacant managerial role, although the 62-year-old has two years left on his contract as manager of Switzerland.
  (The Independent)

• Manchester City have given a trial to the son of one of the former stars of The A-Team. Roland Benedict, 20, whose father, Dirk, played Templeton 'Faceman' Peck in the 1980s television show, has been training with City's development squad.
  (The Times)


• Former star of rock band Oasis, Noel Gallagher, claims more top players are on their way to Manchester City after he had discussions over lunch with chief executive Garry Cook.
  (The Mirror)