Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Manchester City are in talks to sign Brazil's £30m-rated World Cup midfielder Ramires from Benfica after a deal for Aston Villa's James Milner stalled.
  (The Mirror)


• City are confident of clinching the £23m signing of Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli to take their summer spending towards the £100m mark.
  (Daily Mail)


• But Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will reject Manchester City to stay at Spanish champions Barcelona.
  (The Sun)


• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is back on the trail of Werder Bremen's German World Cup star Mezut Ozil. Ferguson missed out on signing midfielder Ozil as a teenager.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea have had a £16.9m offer for 18-year-old Brazilian forward Neymar turned down by Santos.
  (Daily Mail)


• Blues chairman Bruce Buck has warned left-back Ashley Cole against a summer move to Real Madrid.
  (The Guardian)


• Barcelona star Xavi has warned Arsenal they only have midfielder Cesc Fabregas "on loan" and that the Gunners captain will eventually return to the Nou Camp, where he started his career.
  (Daily Express)


• Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has been offered a player-coach role to join Arsenal.
  (Daily Express)


• Liverpool want to sell David Ngog for £6m as they try to raise funds for new signings.
  (The Mirror)


• Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is on the verge of a season-long switch to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.
  (Daily Mail)


• Spurs are at the head of the queue to sign Real Madrid striker Raul, who is available on a free transfer.
  (The Sun)


• West Ham are set to finalise a move for Lyon defender Francois Clerc, who is available on a free transfer having seen out his contract with the French club.
  (The Mirror)


• But Tal Ben-Haim's proposed move to West Ham and a reunion with former Portsmouth manager Avram Grant is on the verge of collapse after the defender failed a medical.
  (The Times)


• And Nice have rejected the Hammers' £12.5m bid for Loic Remy as the London club battle with Liverpool and another unnamed Premier League side to sign the striker.
  (The Independent)


• Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is plotting a raid on former club Chelsea to sign defender Ricardo Carvalho, who he brought to Stamford Bridge from another of his former clubs Porto in 2004.
  (The Mirror)


• Wolves, West Ham and Blackburn are locked in three-way tussle to sign striker Benjani, who is a free agent after leaving Manchester City.
  (The Mirror)


• Wolfsburg boss Steve McClaren has failed in an attempt to take Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy to Germany on loan.
  (Daily Mail)


• Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has committed himself to the Spanish, club despite an approach from Newcastle.
  (The Independent)


• Wigan centre-back Titus Bramble is set to complete a £1m move to Sunderland, where he will be reunited with ex-Latics boss Steve Bruce.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• Everton striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is joining Coventry City on loan.
  (Daily Mail)


• Blackpool are leading the race to sign former West Brom midfielder Robert Koren on a free transfer.
  (Daily Mail)


• Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that Portsmouth goalkeeper David James is high on his list of targets to replace Artur Boruc, who has joined Fiorentina.
  (Daily Record)

• Goalkeeper Joe Hart has cut short his summer holiday to begin pre-season training early in a bid to secure the number one spot for both Manchester City and England.
  (The Sun)


• Chelsea keeper Petr Cech could be ruled out for the champions' Premier League opener against West Brom in August after suffering a calf injury in training on Tuesday.
  (The Independent)


• Argentine news agency Telam is reporting that Diego Maradona will remain in charge of the national side, a decision he is expected to announce next week after meeting with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona.
  (Associated Press)


• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes striker Wayne Rooney can put his World Cup misery with England behind him to become the complete player this season.
  (The Mirror)


• Ferguson has accused the Football Association of handicapping the England team by refusing to introduce a winter break during the domestic season.
  (The Guardian)


• West Ham's bid to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games received a boost after the company behind the huge shopping centre that will dominate the entrance to the site said it would back the idea.
  (The Guardian)

• AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi laid down the law to new coach Massimiliano Allegri at a press conference by demanding that he play two strikers. Berlusconi fell out with former coach Leonardo because of his lone striker tactics last season.
  (The Guardian)


• Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is aiming to hit the ground running next season after being given a motivational talk from legendary American sprinter Carl Lewis. The Olympic gold medallist visited City at their training camp in Portland, Oregon.
  (The Mirror)


• A ban may be imposed on vuvuzelas at Wembley in time for the Community Shield and England's friendly against Hungary in August.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• Striker Andy Carroll says he can handle the "spine-tingling" burden of following Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald and Jackie Milburn by wearing the number nine shirt for Newcastle.
  (The Mirror)