Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Liverpool have told Barcelona that they want £24.5m in cash for Javier Mascherano after rejecting an offer of £18.8m, plus Alexander Hleb for the 26-year-old Argentine.
  (goal)


• Chelsea have been linked with a move for Inter Milan defender Nicolas Burdisso after concluding that Benfica's Brazil defender David Luiz, rated at £27m, is likely to prove too expensive.
  (Daily Mail)


• Sunderland are interested in West Ham striker Carlton Cole after being rebuffed in their efforts to sign Ghana's Asamoah Gyan from Rennes.
  (Daily Mail)


• Brazilian forward Robinho is set to meet officials from Fenerbahce in Manchester on Tuesday in an attempt to seal a move from Manchester City before the 31 August transfer deadline.
  (Daily Telegraph)


• Everton manager David Moyes is leading the chase for Peter Crouch - and will let Tottenham have contract rebel Steven Pienaar in exchange for the England striker.
  (The Mirror)


• West Ham have made an £8m bid for Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro, who bagged 17 league goals in the French league last season and caught the eye of several major European clubs.
  (The Sun)


• Ian Holloway is set for a swoop on Newcastle's Leon Best and Swansea's Stephen Dobbie after conceding that Blackpool need six more signings for a chance of Premier League survival.
  (Daily Star)


• Striker Alessandro Diamanti looks set to quit West Ham for Brescia after holding talks about a return to Italy.
  (Daily Star)


• Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp wants to sign another former Arsenal player - Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra.
  (The Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

• Manchester United will pay £60,000 in fines for manager Alex Ferguson as he carries on his ban of speaking to the BBC.
  (The Sun)


• Arsenal's French manager Arsene Wenger believes England deserve to host the World Cup in 2018. "Nowhere else in the world can you travel into the centre of a town or city and find the football stadium squeezed between the streets where people live their lives," he said.
  (Daily Mail)

AND FINALLY...

• Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has been tuning in to BBC Radio 2 - listening to DJs such as Chris Evans, Ken Bruce and Steve Wright - to avoid the abuse he gets on football phone-ins from fans.
  (The Mirror)


• West Ham manager Avram Grant is set to miss out on a bargain loan deal for Manchester City youngster Felipe Caicedo because of an administration error.
  (The Mirror)