Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Barcelona are set to offer Liverpool £70m for star striker Fernando Torres but face competition from Chelsea and Manchester City.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester United are set to launch a £25m bid for Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini as a potential replacement for centre-back Nemanja Vidic, who has been linked to Manchester City.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea are on the verge of landing Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun in a £6.5m four-year deal.
  (Daily Mail )


• Chelsea and Liverpool have yet to finalise a fee for Benayoun but he has agreed terms with the west Londoners and will undergo a medical at Chelsea's Cobham training ground this week.
  (The Guardian)


• The Blues will pay the 30-year-old Israeli £60,000 a week, with Manchester United, Tottenham and Juventus leading the chase for the man he will replace at Stamford Bridge, England midfielder Joe Cole.
  (The Mirror)


• The departure of Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea is expected to be followed by forward Ryan Babel, winger Albert Riera, defender Philipp Degen and keeper Diego Cavalieri leaving Liverpool this summer.
  (The Times)


• Real Madrid are growing increasingly confident that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard wants to quit Anfield and join ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's club in Spain.
  (Daily Mail )


• But new Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is also keen on Gerrard and the Catalan club are lining up a £40m offer for the England captain.
  (caughtoffside)


• Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who is rumoured to want to quit Anfield and join former manager Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan, has admitted he is learning Italian.
  (Daily Mail )


• Mascherano could be joined at Inter Milan by Liverpool team-mate, defender Glen Johnson, with current right-back Maicon set to leave the Italian club for Real Madrid.
  (IMScouting)


• .com Manchester City are edging closer to the signing of Valencia's Spain winger Pablo Hernandez. However, a deal to sign Valencia midfielder David Silva is proving more difficult to clinch.
  (The Mirror)


• City, meanwhile, will return to Aston Villa with an improved offer for England midfielder James Milner, having had an initial bid of £18m turned down.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester City are also expected to complete the signing of Barcelona defender Yaya Toure within the next two weeks.
  (IMScouting)


• Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has set his sights on Manchester City's 21-year-old defender Micah Richards.
  (The Mirror)


• West Ham are lining up goalkeeper Richard Wright, who was told in April he would not be offered a new deal by Ipswich, to succeed England's Robert Green, who they hope to sell this summer to help alleviate the club's debt.
  (Daily Mail )


• The Hammers also want to acquire Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, who is out of contract at Boca Juniors and is considering offers from the east Londoners and a raft of other European and South American sides.
  (Daily Mail )


• Fulham's Nigerian midfielder Dickson Etuhu and St Etienne's Argentine striker Gonzalo Bergessio are two other targets for new West Ham boss Avram Grant.
  (Daily Mail )


• Schalke's German international keeper Manuel Neuer is being lined up as the man to eventually replace Manchester United stopper Edwin Van der Sar.
  (caughtoffside)


• Manchester United's Serbian winger Zoran Tosic is set to join CSKA Moscow in an £8m deal after turning down a move to Cologne.
  (Daily Mail )


• Tottenham are ready to make a new bid for Spartak Moscow keeper Stipe Pletikosa.
  (Daily Mail )


• Deportivo La Coruna have withdrawn their interest in Tottenham winger Giovani dos Santos and Arsenal striker Carlos Vela, who are on World Cup duty for Mexico.
  (The Times)


• Stoke City are still hopeful of sealing the signing of Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ledley, despite facing competition from Italian side Roma for the 23-year-old.
  (Daily Mail )


• Stoke have also set their sights on a double swoop for Aston Villa's England striker Emile Heskey and West Ham forward Carlton Cole.
  (The Sun)


• Sunderland are interested in signing Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha and are close to sealing a £3.5m deal for the 23-year-old.
  (Daily Mail )


• Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is set to improve his offer for Fulham defender Paul Konchesky to £2m, having had an initial offer of £1.5m turned down by the Cottagers.
  (The Sun)


• Birmingham are also closing in on the £5m signing of Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli, with fellow forward Kevin Phillips set to leave the club as a result.
  (The Mirror)


• Everton striker James Vaughan is wanted on a season-long loan by new Celtic boss Neil Lennon, with Leicester and Derby interested in signing the 21-year-old for £1m.
  (The Mirror)


• Wigan are hopeful of signing Real Madrid reserve keeper Antonio Adan on loan as they look for cover for Chris Kirkland.
  (The Mirror)


• Newcastle United are considering a move for Celtic's Greece striker Georgios Samaras, who is expected to be released by new manager Neil Lennon this summer.
  (Daily Record )


• Steven Mouyokolo has been offered a new four-year contract by Hull City to ward off interest in the central defender from Fulham.
  (The Times)

• Former Portsmouth and Crystal Palace manager Paul Hart is set to be named Hull's new boss after Cardiff City chief Dave Jones was priced out of the running.
  (The Mirror)


• Portsmouth hope to announce former Notts County boss Steve Cotterill as their new manager on Thursday, provided creditors agree to an offer of 20 pence in the pound on the same day.
  (Daily Mail )


• Former Leeds defender Lucas Radebe is set to return to the club as a coach.
  (The Sun)


• Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta is set to commit his future to the club as payback for helping him through his injury problems. The 28-year-old was out for eight months in 2009 with a knee injury.
  (The Sun)

• England have been forced to rewash their match-day kit for Friday's World Cup game against Algeria after a sewage pipe at the squad's base in Royal Bafokeng leaked over it.
  (Daily Mail )


• Sports manufacturers adidas have claimed that altitude rather than design is affecting the much-criticised new Jabulani World Cup ball.
  (Daily Record )


• Meanwhile, it has emerged that England manager Fabio Capello turned down the opportunity for his playing staff to learn about the new ball at a convention in February and also declined the use of it in training prior to the start of the World Cup.
  (The Independent)