Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Manchester City are set to battle Chelsea and Manchester United for the signature of Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric, 25, and are ready to start the bidding at £30m.
  (Daily Mail)


• Chelsea have made discreet enquiries into the availability of Manchester City's Carlos Tevez, who criticised life in the north west and says he would not return to Eastlands. The west London club believe the Argentine may prefer life in the capital, but would have to pay at least £50m for the striker.
  (Footybunker)


• Meanwhile, Chelsea and City could be fighting for the signature of Tevez's fellow countryman Javier Pastore, after the Palermo player admitted he is on the move.
  (Metro)


• Both Manchester City and Chelsea will have to wait until the end of July before they can make a move for Atletico Madrid's Argentine striker Sergio Aguero.
  (talkSPORT)


• But Manchester City have moved quickly to offer Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez an alternative to Barcelona after putting together a bid worth ?30m (£26m) for the Chile international.
  (Goal)


• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger could have won the race to sign Lille striker Gervinho in a deal reported to be worth about £10m.
  (talkSPORT)


• But he still might be gazumped by Manchester City, who have offered the 25-year-old a "huge" salary.
  (The Mirror)


• The Gunners are also considering a bid for France Under-21 international striker Emmanuel Riviere, who plays for Saint Etienne.
  (CaughtOffside)


• Arsenal are competing with Manchester United and Manchester City for the signature of teenage centre-half Raphaël Varane, the Lens and France under-21 player.
  (TheTimes)


• But Danish international Nicklas Bendtner could be leaving the Emirates Stadium - the 23-year-old striker is a £12m target for Turkish giants Besiktas.
  (The Mirror)


• A release clause in Phil Jones's Blackburn contract has temporarily halted the central defender's move to Manchester United. Although the deal is still expected to go through, the Premier League champions may have to pay more than £16m for the 19-year-old.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester United have off-loaded £7.4m winger Bebe to Turkish club Besiktas on a season-long loan with a view to a £2m permanent move.
  (Daily Mail)


• Liverpool are chasing Connor Wickham, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jose Enrique, Gael Clichy, Scott Dann and Charles N'Zogbia, following the £20m signing of Jordan Henderson.
  (The Mirror)


• The Anfield outfit are also interested in Catania's Matias Silvestre, according to the Serie A club. The 26-year-old defender has attracted attention from Spain and Italy too.
  (Goal)


• And Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda has alerted Liverpool - and Arsenal - after declaring he's "stuck in a rut" at current club CSKA Moscow.
  (Metro)


• Fresh from the £20m injection from the sale of Jordan Henderson, Sunderland are attempting to outbid Liverpool for Ipswich striker Connor Wickham with an £8m bid which could rise to £12m.
  (The Mirror)


• Tottenham Hotspur want Sunderland's Ghana international striker Asamoah Gyan as part of a deal that would take Peter Crouch to the Stadium of Light.
  (The Guardian)


• Darron Gibson could also move to Sunderland after the Manchester United and Republic of Ireland international midfielder said he would welcome the chance to play under manager Steve Bruce.
  (Goal)


• Inter's Sulley Muntari is not ruling out a move to Premier League newcomers QPR after Sunderland decided not to take up the option of making his loan move to the Stadium of Light permanent.
  (Goal)


• QPR are ready to make a £3m move for Fulham's Andy Johnson. Boss Neil Warnock has turned to the 30-year-old striker as he looks to have missed out on Swansea-bound Watford star Danny Graham.
  (The Sun)


• Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers is also set to swoop for Eidur Gudjohnsen after the Iceland striker, 32, had a one-year contract offer withdrawn by Fulham following Martin Jol's appointment as manager.
  (The Sun)


• Everton and Bolton are competing for Manchester City defender Dedryck Boyata, the 20-year-old Belgium international.
  (Daily Star)


• Aston Villa have shifted their attentions to Everton manager David Moyes after they were rejected by Roberto Martinez, who opted to remain at the DW Stadium.
  (The Mirror)


• However, Mark Hughes and Owen Coyle are still in the frame to succeed Gerard Houiller at Villa Park.
  (Daily Telegraphl)


• Both Moyes and Coyle may have already snubbed approaches from Villa, whose list of candidates is believed to include former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton and ex-Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri. The club have not totally ruled out a return to Mark Hughes or Steve McClaren after previously snubbing them.
  (Daily Star)


• Coyle is poised to fly to Spain to clinch a £5m Bolton swoop for Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, 20.
  (The Mirror)


• Bayern Munich have followed up their interest in Tranmere's Dale Jennings, 18, with an offer. Jennings is desperate to join the Germans but is being forced to wait as the clubs agree a fee.
  (Daily Mail)

• Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has criticised the party lifestyle of some English players. The Dutchman said: "When I see some English footballers who are out until three in the morning, then I can only conclude that they are invariably finished at 33."
  (The Sun)


• Manchester United legend Eric Cantona will return to Old Trafford in August when his New York Cosmos side face the Red Devils in a testimonial for Paul Scholes, who has just retired.
  (Daily Star)


• Kolo Toure's "psychological obsession with his belly" was the reason why he failed the drugs test that resulted in a six-month ban for the Manchester City defender.
  (Daily Mail)


• New signing Carl Jenkinson hopes to become Arsenal's new Tony Adams after completing a move from Charlton to the club he supported as a boy.
  (Daily Telegraphl)


• Brazil legend Pele has compared Chelsea target Neymar to Barcelona's Lionel Messi - but also insists the Santos starlet 'needs a bit more maturity'.
  (Goal)

• Retired Manchester United right-back and former Lancashire county under-15s cricketer Gary Neville's throwing skills are not what they used to be. He was asked to toss the first pitch during a baseball game in America, but his pitch at the Chicago White Sox v Oakland Athletics match came up short of the plate.
  (Metro)