Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Chelsea are ready to pull the plug on the deal to sign Bolton defender Gary Cahill unless he agrees to join them on Thursday.
  (The Mirror)


• Newcastle could be forced to wait to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha due to the Eagles continued involvement in the Carling Cup. They lead Cardiff 1-0 after the semi-final first leg so the Magpies could be forced to move in the summer.
  (Evening Chronicle)


• Liverpool are also eyeing a move for the England youth international but he's been warned against leaving the club before a potential Wembley trip by his Palace team-mate Paddy McCarthy.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester United have told midfielder Darron Gibson he can leave Old Trafford and he's already held talks with Everton over a £2.5m move.
  (The Mirror)


• Norwich City and Swansea are set to battle it out for the signature of Brighton midfielder Liam Bridcutt. The 22-year-old is expected to cost around £1m.
  (talkSPORT)


• QPR boss Mark Hughes has made his first moves into the transfer market, making a bid for Chelsea defender Alex after having a £5m offer for Blackburn's Chris Samba rejected.
  (Metro)


• Tottenham are also interested in signing the Blackburn defender and have made a £7.5m offer.
  (Daily Mail)


• Chelsea are chasing £8m-rated Argentine winger Lucas Ocampos, 17, in the hope they can head off Manchester United's interest.
  (The Sun)


• Aston Villa are set to miss out on the signing of Slovenian midfielder Armin Bacinovic as Chievo Verona are the favourites to sign him.
  (talkSPORT)


• Bayern Munich are set to step up their interest in Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov.
  (Inside Futbol)


• Arsenal are set to make a £4.1m bid to bring Barcelona defender Eric Abidal to the Emirates.
  (Caught Offside)

• Chris Coleman is set to be named as Gary Speed's successor as Wales manager later this month. The former Coventry and Fulham boss is set to quit as manager of Greek second division side Larissa.
  (Daily Mail)


• Sunderland star Lee Cattermole believes the emergence of James McClean could save the club a lot of money in the transfer market.
  (Evening Chronicle)


• Swansea defender Alan Tate will hand manager Brendan Rodgers a huge boost by returning to action after breaking his leg in a golf buggy accident. He has not featured since the opening day of the season but is aiming to make up for lost time.
  (South Wales Evening Post)


• Wigan midfielder Hendry Thomas has been urged to fill the void left by Momo Diame's departure for the African Cup of Nations.
  (Metro)

• Wayne Rooney suffered a double blow at the recent Ballon d'Or awards. As well as missing out to Neymar for the best goal award he was beaten by a Portuguese youngster in the battle to be the best FIFA 12 player.
  (Metro)