Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Chelsea are set to release midfielders Joe Cole and Michael Ballack on free transfers. The club rejected Cole's pay demands and will not be renewing his contract when it expires at the end of June. Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested.
  (The Independent)


• New Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is contemplating a surprise move to bring Ballack to Spain.
  (Daily Mail )


• Chelsea are preparing a £25m bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.
  (The Mirror)


• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is lining up a move for Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil, with the Gunners considering a £12m bid for Werder Bremen's 21-year-old.
  ( Caughtoffside)


• Robinho's representatives will officially tell Manchester City next week that the £32.5m British record signing no longer wishes to play for the club under coach Roberto Mancini.
  (Daily Mail )


• Robinho's camp has expressed a desire to move to Barcelona, with Manchester City possibly offering the Brazilian in a swap deal for midfielder Yaya Toure.
  (The Guardian)


• The agent representing Juventus striker Vincenzo Iaquinta says the Italian will be heading to Tottenham this summer.
  (The Sun)


• West Ham co-owner David Gold says England goalkeeper Robert Green is up for grabs this summer. The 29-year-old's contract expires next year and Gold revealed: "At this stage we are not going to have talks with him about a new deal."
  (The Sun)


• Rafa Benitez's first move when he is finally unveiled as Inter Milan manager will be to return to England and his former club Liverpool in an attempt to take Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano to the San Siro.
  (The Mirror)


• West Ham have had a £2m bid for defender Onyekachi Apam rejected by Nice. Full story: The Times (requires subscription) Arsenal defender William Gallas is wanted by Greek side Panathinaikos.
  (The Mirror)


• Fulham are close to completing the signing of Standard Liege striker Dieumerci Mbokani for a fee of £8m.
  (Daily Mail )


• Aston Villa lead a long list of clubs wanting to sign winger Martin Petrov, who has been released by Manchester City. Everton, Stoke, West Ham and Bolton are also interested in the 31-year-old.
  (The Mirror)


• Barcelona president Joan Laporta is "totally sure" the Catalan club will sign Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
  (The Mirror)


• Italian club Fiorentina are weighing up a £3.5m bid for Liverpool's 21-year-old left-back Emiliano Insua.
  (Daily Mail )


• Blackburn and Sunderland are set to battle it out for the signing of Stoke forward Tuncay.
  (The Mirror)


• Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is mulling over a bid for Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, even though the 24-year-old managed two goals last season.
  (Daily Mail )


• Tottenham are preparing an improved £8m offer for Ipswich's England Under-17 international Connor Wickham.
  (Daily Mail )

• Liverpool will make a formal approach for Fulham boss Roy Hodgson to become their new manager within the next 48 hours.
  (The Mirror)


• However, Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish has put himself forward to take over at Liverpool and has withdrawn from the panel to select the next manager.
  (Daily Express)


• England manager Fabio Capello wants to hold talks with Wayne Rooney to tell the Manchester United striker to curb his temper.
  (The Mirror)


• Former England skipper Terry Butcher says if he was a United States defender, he would "belt" Rooney in order to wind him up.
  (The Sun)


• England's players have told Capello that they want David James to be the number one goalkeeper during the World Cup as they feel his communication skills are better than his rivals.
  (Daily Star)

• The United States asked Commander Dan Jollota, the helicopter pilot who inspired the film Black Hawk Down, to give them a pep talk ahead of their opening World Cup game against England on Saturday.
  (The Mirror)