Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Barcelona have made an improved £34m offer for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and are also hoping to recruit Samir Nasri for £20m.
  (The Mirror)


• Chelsea and Manchester City are locked in a battle to sign Brazilian striker Neymar after both had bids of £40m accepted by his club Santos.
  (Daily Star)


• The Blues owner Roman Abramovich will block former boss Jose Mourinho's £18m move to lure midfielder Michael Essien to Real Madrid.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea intend to open talks with Didier Drogba aimed at extending the 33-year-old striker's stay at Stamford Bridge after his former club Marseille suggested publicly they would be capable of putting together a deal to bring him back to France.
  (The Guardian)


• But Turkish club Galatasaray are ready to bid again for Drogba in an effort to pair him with Bolton striker Johan Elmander.
  (The Guardian)


• Chelsea are monitoring developments with Sergio Aguero after his advisers held talks with Atletico Madrid in an attempt to get the Argentina striker's release clause reduced from £42m to £32m.
  (Daily Mail)


• Barcelona may turn their attention to Manchester United winger Nani if they fail in their pursuit of in-demand Udinese star Alexis Sanchez.
  (talkSPORT)


• Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is aiming to make Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic his first summer signing at Eastlands after lodging a £6m offer for the Montenegro international.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• Arsenal are hoping to announce the signing of Lille's Ivory Coast striker Gervinho and that is likely to be followed by a move for Bolton's England centre half Gary Cahill and Blackburn defender Chris Samba.
  (The Mirror)


• New Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish wants Real Madrid midfielder Sergio Canales to be his first big signing on a season-long loan.
  (The Mirror)


• McLeish is set to offer £4m for Manchester City keeper Shay Given.
  (The Mirror)


• The Scot also has his eye on Wolfsburg playmaker Diego.
  (The Sun)


• In addition, McLeish has been granted permission from Villa owner Randy Lerner to pursue a £9m move for Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia.
  (Daily Express)


• Newcastle are considering making a bid for Argentine striker Juan Manuel Martinez, who plays for Velez Sarsfield.
  (Daily Star)


• Tottenham have made it clear to Blackburn they will not sell striker Robbie Keane on the cheap having already rejected a £2m bid.
  (Daily Star)


• Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is ready to take a pay cut to join Bolton, according to Wanderers defender Zat Knight.
  (The Sun)


• Tottenham and West Ham are competing to sign Ghana international Samuel Inkoom, who can play as a defender or midfielder.
  (The Sun)


• Stoke will abandon their move to sign Birmingham defender Scott Dann and striker Cameron Jerome after having a £16m bid for the pair rejected.
  (The Sun)


• The Potters could also miss out on Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge having been told it would take £20m to take him to the Britannia Stadium.
  (Daily Express)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to bring in Inter Milan's £8m-rated goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.
  (The Sun)


• But it looks likely that Wenger will fail to lure Juan Mata to the Emirates after the midfielder said he is happy at Valencia.
  (The Independent)


• Gunners midfielder Denilson is attracting interest from AC Milan.
  (Daily Express)

• Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the club will be back among the trophies sooner rather than later - and is confident the league title will be among them.
  (Daily Star)


• Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has told former board member Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith to keep quiet after she called for the current board to be sacked.
  (Daily Star)


• Legendary Gunners and Netherlands striker Dennis Bergkamp has been appointed assistant manager of Ajax, the club where he started his career.
  (The Sun)


• Former Chelsea defender Juliano Belletti has retired from football aged 34 because of an Achilles tendon injury.
  (Daily Mail)

• Everton star Phil Neville has dropped the price of his luxury three-bedroom three-storey Manchester city centre flat by £250,000 to £3.75m.
  (The Mirror)


• North Korea's coach has blamed his side's defeat by United States in the women's World Cup on his players being struck by lightning in a recent training match.
  (The Times)