Latest football rumours from today's newspapers.

• West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is planning an £18m raid for Argentine striker Mauro Zarate. The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Birmingham from Al-Sadd in Qatar. (The Sun)



• Newcastle are keeping tabs on £10m-rated Germany defender Christoph Metzelder. The 6ft 4in centre back has made just 11 appearances for Real Madrid this season. (Daily Star)



• Chelsea's £4m-rated teenage striker Scott Sinclair will be at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war this summer between FA Cup finalists Portsmouth and Roy Keane's Sunderland. (Daily Mirror)



• Wigan manager Steve Bruce has warned Manchester City it will take a lot more than £5m to land winger Antonio Valencia. "When I heard about this supposed £5m interest in Valencia, I laughed," he said. (The Sun)



• Austria's Red Bull Salzburg are planning a summer swoop for Wolves skipper Karl Henry - and hope to lure him with the prospect of European football. (Daily Mirror)



• Steven Pienaar wants a firm contract offer from Everton - or he'll leave. The winger, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, is available for £2.4m. (The Sun)



• Liverpool reject Florent Sinama-Pongolle - now with Recreativo de Huelva - is a £7.2m target for Valencia and Atletico Madrid. (Daily Mirror)



• Sunderland are believed to be interested in £2.5m-rated Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard, especially so if the west London club are to lose their battle to avoid relegation. (Daily Express)



• Aston Villa are interested in Bayern Munich's £1.5m-rated right-back Willy Sagnol. (Daily Mail)

• Angry Bolton fans are organising a petition and protests to get rid of manager Gary Megson and chairman Phil Gartside. (Daily Mirror)



• Fulham have denied that manager Roy Hodgson was going to be replaced by former midfielder John Collins. (Daily Telegraph)



• Bolton, meanwhile, have refuted suggestions that Nigeria Under-23 coach Samson Siasia is being lined up to replace Gary Megson. (Daily Telegraph)



• Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech could be playing in two weeks after having 50 stitches in a face wound courtesy of an accidental collision with team-mate Tal Ben Haim... And he's likely to be donning a face guard to go with the scrumcap he already wears. (The Independent)



• American billionaire George Soros could complete his takeover of Roma by the end of the week, according to reports in Italy. (Daily Telegraph)



• Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan has assured winger Damien Duff that he still has a future at St James' Park. (The Independent)



• Jean-Claude Darcheville's agent has revealed that the 32-year-old striker hopes to end his playing career at Ibrox. (Daily Record)

• Roma boss Luciano Spalletti has admitted his players were wrong to accuse Cristiano Ronaldo of showboating. "Sometimes we may say things that we normally would not and that is what happened," he said. (Daily Star)



• QPR manager Luigi Di Canio was left bruised and shaken after being mugged just hours before his side's Championship clash with Preston. The Italian was believed to have been robbed in west London after going out for a meal and was up until 3am reporting the incident at a police station. (Daily Mirror)



• David Beckham has again topped football's rich list with France Football magazine estimating his annual fortune at a staggering £24.7m, a figure which helps LA Galaxy's Englishman reclaim top spot from Ronaldinho.(Various)