Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Contract talks between Didier Drogba and Chelsea have been put on hold, paving the way for the Ivory Coast striker to leave Stamford Bridge on a free transfer at the end of the season.
  (The Times)


• Barcelona are planning a £12m summer move for Chelsea and England left-back Ashley Cole.
  (The Mirror)


• Meanwhile, Russian big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala are ready to offer Cole £200,000 a week to lure the defender away from London.
  (The Sun)


• Real Madrid are ready to bid £30m for Manchester United's Mexican striker Javier Hernandez.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea are to renew their interest in Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin, and could make an offer for the Uruguay international in January, according to reports on Spanish radio.
  (Footylatest)


• Blackburn winger Junior Hoilett is stalling over signing a new contract with Tottenham and Newcastle both keen on a summer move for the 21-year-old.
  (The Sun)


• Arsenal will attempt to sign Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff after the Ligue 1 side's president admitted he will have to sell his stars to balance the books.
  (CaughtOffside)


• The Gunners are also on the trail of Toulouse defender Aymen Abdennour, with scouts tracking his progress in France. The Tunisia left-back moved to Toulouse from Etoile du Sahel in the summer and has impressed at the Ligue 1 club.
  (talkSPORT)


• QPR have expressed an interest in signing Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who is also wanted by German side Borussia Dortmund.
  (Footylatest)


• Udinese goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic has told a Serbian newspaper that he is a transfer target for Tottenham. The 25-year-old Serbia international is currently on loan at Siena.
  (talkSPORT)


• Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing young United States international Brek Shea after a prolonged period of monitoring the FC Dallas attacker.
  (CaughtOffside)


• Liverpool will continue in their pursuit of Manchester City winger Adam Johnson by making further enquiries for the player in the January transfer window.
  (Footybunker)

• England striker Wayne Rooney has written to Uefa in a bid to keep his Euro 2012 suspension down to one game.
  (The Guardian)


• Goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed to Spanish newspaper El Pais that he came close to leaving Liverpool a handful of times, especially during the disastrous Tom Hicks and George Gillett reign.
  (talkSPORT)


• Newcastle have ripped down their 'Newcastle United' sign from the East Stand at St James' Park and are auctioning the letters off for charity, with the N currently fetching the most at £510.
  ( The Independent )


• Former Arsenal defender Gilles Grimandi, now the club's chief scout in France, believes Arsene Wenger's side suffer more injuries than other teams because "we keep hold of the ball more."
  (Daily Express)


• Derby manager Nigel Clough's move back to manage Nottingham Forest is off - because he does not have the proper coaching badges. Under new regulations brought in last summer, Championship clubs can only appoint bosses with A or Pro licences but Clough only has a B licence.
  (The Mirror)


• Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has turned down the chance to be the new manager of German side Schalke, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial. The Spaniard is reportedly only interested in taking over at a club he feels is capable of challenging for silverware.
  (Inside Futbol)


• Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has warned on-loan striker Emmanuel Adebayor that he will have to take a substantial pay cut on his current £150,000-a-week salary to secure a permanent move from Manchester City.
  (The Mirror)

• Liverpool and Newcastle legends including Alan Shearer, Faustino Asprilla and Steve McManaman have rolled back the years to recreate the famous 4-3 game from 1996 for charity - but the Kevin Keegan-managed Magpies still could not exact revenge and lost 4-1.
  (Metro)