Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder is poised to seal a £35m switch to Manchester United this week. The Netherlands international's earnings will surpass striker Wayne Rooney's £220,000-a-week wages at Old Trafford.
  (The Sun)


• West Ham midfielder Scott Parker is under consideration for a shock return to Chelsea because Michael Essien may be sidelined for six months because of a knee injury.
  (The Mirror)


• The Stamford Bridge outfit have made an improved offer for Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric, with a bid of £27m lodged with the White Hart Lane club.
  (Daily Mail)


• Chelsea will target Real Madrid playmaker Kaka if Spurs continue to resist their approaches for Modric.
  (Metro)


• Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic are weighing up Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
  (Daily Mail)


• Blackburn could make a move for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, possibly in a swap deal that would take defender Chris Samba to Spurs.
  (The Mirror)


• Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega has emerged as a £10m target for Villarreal as the Spanish side look for a replacement for the Juventus-bound Giuseppe Rossi.
  (The Sun)


• Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is interested in forward Senijad Ibricic and midfielder Alan Gatagov, who both play for Lokomotiv Moscow.
  (talkSPORT)


• Tottenham's hopes of signing Lassana Diarra were boosted after the midfielder was left out of Real Madrid's pre-season tour of the United States.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal may attract 16-year-old Chivas Guadalajara striker Carlos Fierro to north London after his impressive performances at the Under-17 World Cup prompted Gunners manager Arsene Wenger to consider a £2m bid.
  (The Sun)


• Valencia have told Arsenal and Tottenham that playmaker Juan Mata is not for sale.
  (talkSPORT)


• Arsenal have confirmed Nicklas Bendtner is "talking to other clubs", with Aston Villa, Fulham, Bolton and Newcastle thought to be interested.
  (Metro)


• Liverpool are set to up their bid for Aston Villa's Stewart Downing to £18.5m in an attempt to beat Arsenal to the England winger. The Reds had an initial £15m offer rejected.
  (The Mirror)


• Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani could return to his home country on a second year-long loan deal from Liverpool after Fiorentina expressed an interest in the 26-year-old.
  (The Sun)


• West Brom are ready to spend £8m - a new club record - on Reading striker Shane Long.
  (The Sun)


• Defender Roger Johnson is set to leave relegated Birmingham and move to Wolves in a deal that could rise to £7m.
  (The Mirror)


• Norwich manager Paul Lambert may reinforce his ranks with West Ham full-back Herita Illunga.
  (The Sun)


• Rangers may offer former striker Kenny Miller a third spell at Ibrox because the 31-year-old is unsettled at Bursaspor after moving to Turkey in January.
  (Daily Record)

• Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville says the Red Devils will not see Manchester City as their main title rival next season.
  (talkSPORT)


• Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has warned manager Arsene Wenger that the Gunners need to splash out or risk being left behind by their top-four Premier League rivals.
  (Daily Mail)


• Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is set to name John O'Shea as the club's new captain, upsetting current skipper Lee Cattermole.
  (Daily Mail)


• Manchester City forward Emmanuel Adebayor is heading for a fine of about £300,000 after apparently carrying out his threat to boycott training with the club's fringe players. Adebayor had said he would train with himself rather than with the junior and reserve players following the decision to leave him out of City's United States tour.
  (Daily Mail)

• Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton believes the club will never follow rivals Manchester City in changing the name of their stadium as part of a sponsorship deal. "It's not our policy to change the name of Old Trafford. It's too important," he said.
  (The Sun)


• Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong believes his side have taken over from Chelsea as the Premier League's most-hated team.
  (Daily Star)


• Wales have sunk below the Faroe Islands in the world rankings after a Faroese student pointed out a mistake in Fifa's calculations.
  (Daily Telegraph)