Latest football rumours from today's newspapers.

• Tottenham have joined Manchester City in the battle to sign Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz. (Daily Mirror)



• Manchester City hope to win the race for Santa Cruz by increasing their bid to £15m and have also registered an interest in £10m-rated Real Zaragoza striker Diego Milito. (The Independent)



• Chelsea will lodge a new £23m bid for Robinho after the Brazilian forward pleaded to be released by Real Madrid. (The Sun)



• Everton are beating Newcastle in the race to sign Juventus midfield man Tiago after he was reportedly impressed by Goodison Park chairman Bill Kenwright. (Daily Mail)



• Manchester United hope to unveil striker Dimitar Berbatov before Sunday's Premier League opener against Newcastle after agreeing a deal in principle with Tottenham. (Daily Star)



• Spurs, however, would rather sell Berbatov to Barcelona for a cut-price fee after being angered by the way United have handled the deal. (The Sun)



• Chelsea remain hopeful they will sign AC Milan's Brazil superstar Kaka but will have to wait until next season to complete the deal. (The Times)



• Chelsea are ready to pay £8m to sign Manchester City's talented 18-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge. (Daily Mirror)



• Olivier Kapo wants to quit Wigan only a month after arriving from Birmingham and Sunderland could offer the midfielder an escape route. (Daily Mirror)



• Liverpool will offer Aston Villa a cut-price deal for Gareth Barry after the midfielder cup-tied himself for the group stage of the Champions League by playing in the Uefa Cup. (Daily Mirror)



• Blackburn are ready to offer striker Robbie Fowler a short-term deal after including him in their team photograph. (The Sun)



• Rangers are poised to sign Portsmouth midfield man Pedro Mendes in a £3m deal. (Daily Telegraph)



• Cardiff have rejected a £3m bid for midfielder Joe Ledley from an unnamed club - with Everton known to have shown a strong interest. (The Sun)



• West Brom have made a second bid to sign Charlton utility player Zheng Zhi with a £2m bid. (Daily Mirror)



• Aston Villa are willing to pay £7m to sign Reading striker Kevin Doyle - but the Championship club is demanding £8m. (The Times)



• Celtic have won the race against Rangers for Cardiff defender Glenn Loovens and he will complete the deal in Glasgow on Saturday. (Daily Record)

• Hull manager Phil Brown is on the verge of signing a new three-year deal that will treble his salary. (Daily Mail)

• Paul Ince will remove the title of The Guv'nor from his next programme notes at Blackburn after it was used for the friendly against NAC Breda, saying: "I left that Guv'nor thing behind at Manchester United." (Daily Express)