Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Chelsea have had a bid for Palermo playmaker Javier Pastore rejected by the Italian club, who want £44m for the in-demand Argentine.
  (Daily Mail)


• Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov says he wants to stay at the club, despite being left out of the squad for the Champions League final and reported interest from Newcastle, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
  (The Mirror)


• AC Milan want to sign Chelsea forward Didier Drogba. If they are unsuccessful they will turn to Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor, who has been on loan at Real Madrid.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas will be on Inter Milan's hit list if Wesley Sneijder leaves the Italian club for Manchester United.
  (Metro)


• Liverpool have their sights set on a £13m deal for Sunderland's England midfielder Jordan Henderson.
  (Daily Mail)


• Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios will discover in the next 48 hours if he can secure a £7m move to Italian side Napoli.
  (The Mirror)


• However, Spurs have put a £15m price tag on Honduran international Palacios, who joined the White Hart Lane club for £12m from Wigan.
  (Daily Mail)


• Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City are weighing up Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain because the Spanish club may be willing to sell him for only £15m.
  (Daily Mail)


• New West Ham manager Sam Allardyce wants to sign Blackburn's El-Hadji Diouf. The striker had been on loan at Rangers, who remain interested in him.
  (Daily Mail)


• However, Allardyce faces a tough task if he is to hold on to Demba Ba because Everton have joined top-flight rivals Sunderland in the chase to land the Hammers striker.
  (The Sun)


• Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, who has been linked to Liverpool and Manchester United, will put back any talks about his future until next week because he is focused on England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland, which is on Saturday.
  (Metro)


• Fulham manager Mark Hughes has put in a £1m bid for Bournemouth forward Danny Ings.
  (Daily Star)


• Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he wants to stay at AC Milan, all but ruling out a summer switch to Manchester City.
  (talkSPORT)


• Premier League newcomers QPR have been told they will have to pay £4m for Fulham's Andrew Johnson, with West Brom also keen on the ex-Birmingham forward.
  (Daily Mail)

• Guus Hiddink has made the clearest indication yet that he is prepared to give up his job as Turkey boss to take the managerial helm at Chelsea.
  (The Sun)


• Fulham boss Mark Hughes has been linked to Aston Villa but the Craven Cottage club believe he will reject any advances from the Midlands side. Villa are looking for a replacement for Gerard Houllier, who stood down on Wednesday after missing the final month of the season because of heart problems.
  (The Guardian)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to try to sign taller players to stop his side letting in so many goals from set-pieces.
  (The Guardian)


• Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas says his club would also have beaten Manchester United in the Champions League final had they not been knocked out by eventual winners Barcelona in the semi-finals.
  (Daily Star)


• The United States could benefit if the 2022 World Cup vote was reopened. If Qatar get stripped of the hosting role, the US could take over, allowing China to host the tournament in 2026.
  (The Mirror)

• Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has been pictured in another team's shirt - that of the New York Mets baseball team. He and Gunners striker Robin van Persie enjoyed a trip to the United States to see former team-mate Thierry Henry in action for New York Red Bulls.
  (Daily Mail)