Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Roma will have to go head-to-head with Real Madrid in the race to sign Tottenham and England defender Kyle Walker.
  (talkSPORT)


• Manchester City have stepped up their pursuit of 17-year-old Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia Under-21s midfielder Mateo Kovacic, dubbed the "Croatian Lionel Messi".
  (The Sun)


• AC Milan will offer to pay all of Carlos Tevez's £200,000-a-week wages to take the striker on loan from Manchester City in January.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he would bring Santos's Brazil international Neymar, 19, to Emirates Stadium if he were handed sufficient transfer funds.
  (Metro)


• Tottenham are believed to have offered Roman Pavlyuchenko to Marseille in a player-plus-cash deal for fellow striker Loic Remy, 24.
  (The Mirror)


• Chelsea will let midfielder Josh McEachran, 18, join Bolton on loan to smooth their move for £8m-rated defender Gary Cahill, 25.
  (The Sun)


• Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua are confident of signing Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka in January.
  (Inside Futbol)


• Swansea City face a battle with Liverpool over the signing of 19-year-old Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly.
  (Daily Express)


• French defender Sylvain Distin, 33, is close to signing a one-year contract extension at Everton.
  (Liverpool Echo)


• Juventus are considering a £15m move for Chelsea defender David Luiz, having already offered the Blues £2m for team-mate and fellow centre-back Alex.
  (The Mirror)


• Stuttgart and Serbia international midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic has said that being linked with a move to Serie A giants Juventus is an 'honour'.
  (Bild)


• Meanwhile, Juve are believed to be lining up a January offer for Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, 26.
  (talkSPORT)


• Wolves manager Mick McCarthy believes a healthy Premier League position can help entice new players to Molineux in January.
  (Birmingham Mail)


• Blackburn owners Venky's are believed to be ready to back manager Steve Kean financially in the January transfer window - as well as doing their utmost to keep the club's star players.
  (Lancashire Telegraph)


• Rovers may also look to move on fringe players such as defender Michel Salgado and midfielder Keith Andrews to generate funds for January signings.
  (The Mirror)


• QPR, Swansea and Wigan are in the running to sign Barcelona B striker Jonathan Soriano, 26, who has suggested he is open to a move abroad.
  (Daily Mail)

• Former England captain David Beckham has ruled out a career in management after admitting that he did not enjoy his time as an assistant to England manager Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
  (Evening Standard)


• Ex-Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng - now at Bayern Munich - says he has no regrets about leaving the club in the summer.
  (Manchester Evening News)


• Sunderland defender Wes Brown has backed new boss Martin O'Neill to bring back a "feel-good factor" to the Stadium of Light.
  (Sunderland Echo)


• Wolves captain Roger Johnson will benefit from being dropped, manager Mick McCarthy insists.
  (Express & Star)


• West Brom defender Steven Reid has no plans to return to international football despite the Republic of Ireland's qualification for Euro 2012.
  (Birmingham Mail)


• Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has said he is looking forward to seeing the 'new' Callum McManaman when the England Under-20s striker returns from his loan spell at Championship side Blackpool in January.
  (Wigan Evening Post)

• Manchester City frontman Mario Balotelli may be in sweet form on the field, but it seems his Christmas cake making skills could do with some polishing after he was defeated by marzipan icing and a little plastic Santa.
  (Metro)