Paper Talk
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal's chances of bringing club legend Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford have collapsed after Real Madrid told them he would cost £85m.
Leicester City are prepared to pay £11m to sign Chile midfielder Charles Aranguiz from Brazilian club Internacional, with Bayer Leverkusen and Marseille also interested.
Chelsea will return with a fresh bid for John Stones after Everton rejected their second offer of £26m - but Manchester City are ready to join the chase to land the England defender.
Swansea have slapped a £25m price tag on captain Ashley Williams to fend off interest from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace.
Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat is eyeing a reunion with Ola Toivonen, who he worked with during his time at PSV Eindhoven.
Bologna are interested in taking Liverpool misfit striker Mario Balotelli back to Italy.
Northampton Town striker Ivan Toney prefers a move to Newcastle United despite interest from Championship clubs.
Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal has abandoned the traditional pre-season friendly at Old Trafford to ensure his players are ready for the new campaign, which begins at home against Tottenham on August 8. But the Dutchman has organised a behind-closed-doors, 11-a-side game for his players next week, to make sure they are match-sharp.
Ashley Young is seeking showdown talks with Manchester United over a new contract.
Former Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby - who has joined Marseille - rejected the opportunity to join Liverpool who made a formal approach to sign the injury-prone enforcer on a pay-as-you-play style deal.
Chelsea's Mohamed Salah has touched down in Italy ahead of his move to Roma.
Meanwhile, Turkish club Galatasaray have put a £7m price tag on Chelsea target Alex Telles.
Arsenal have completed the signing of gifted 16-year-old Ajax frontman Donyell Malen.
Nantes midfielder Jordan Veretout is expected to fly into England in the next 48 hours to decide on a move to the Premier League with Aston Villa working towards an agreement.
Sergio Ramos is close to signing a new contract with Real Madrid, according to reports. Spanish newspaper Marca report a deal has been agreed in principle to keep the centre-back - heavily linked with Manchester United - at the Bernabeu until 2020.
Arsenal have turned down Palermo's opening £3.5m bid for out-of-favour striker Joel Campbell. Arsenal are holding out for at least £7m for the Costa Rica international, who is also attracting interest from Spain.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are planning to make a move for Barcelona's 27-year-old midfielder Sergio Busquets.
Newcastle have resurrected their interest in Marseille's 22-year-old winger Florian Thauvin, with the French side having already turned down a £12m bid.
West Bromwich Albion are closing on their third summer signing with striker Rickie Lambert set to join from Liverpool.
Steven Caulker wants to prove himself at Southampton after enduring back-to-back Premier League relegations with Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers.
Louis van Gaal could be forced to undertake a gruelling pre-season trip to China next summer with Manchester United's major sponsors increasingly keen to exploit the club's commercial power in the Far East.
Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert, 33, could be set for a reunion with former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, with West Brom also interested.
BBC
Manchester United have abandoned plans to re-sign 30-year-old forward Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. United had hoped an offer of £60m would be acceptable, but Real value the Portugal international at £85m. (Sun - subscription required)
Manchester City are ready to join the chase for 21-year-old John Stones, with Chelsea preparing a third bid for the Everton defender. (Daily Mirror)
Everton rejected a second Chelsea bid of £26m for England international Stones on Tuesday. (ESPN FC)
The Toffees have been angered by comments made by Chelsea defender Gary Cahill. The 27-year-old centre-back said Stones should "grab with both hands" the chance to sign for the Blues. (Times - subscription required)
Defender Sergio Ramos, 29, has agreed to sign a new five-year contract with Real Madrid, news which will be officially announced before the new La Liga season gets under way on 23 August. (Marca)
With Manchester United's hopes of signing Sergio Ramos appearing to be dead in the water, Real Madrid have turned their attentions back to the pursuit of United goalkeeper David De Gea, 24. (Independent)
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, 24, is a target for newly promoted Serie A side Bologna after the club confirmed they are mulling over a permanent transfer for the striker. (London Evening Standard)
Ashley Young is close to signing a new deal at Manchester United, dashing Tottenham's hopes of signing the 30-year-old, who has one year left on his contract. (Talksport)
Swansea have put a £25m price tag on captain Ashley Williams, 30, to fend off interest from Crystal Palace. (Daily Mirror)
Swansea manager Garry Monk says central defender Williams will not be leaving the club. (Wales Online)
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says the Hammers have not given up on completing a permanent deal for Barcelona midfielder Alex Song, 27. (London Evening Standard)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is planning to make a move for Barcelona's 27-year-old midfielder Sergio Busquets. (Daily Express)
Newcastle have resurrected their interest in Marseille's 22-year-old winger Florian Thauvin, with the French side having already turned down a £12m bid. (Daily Express)
Nantes midfielder Jordan Veretout, 22, is expected to fly into England to decide over a move to the Premier League, with Aston Villa working on a £7m deal. (Daily Mail)
Besiktas have announced Fiorentina striker Mario Gomez, 30, will fly to Turkey for final negotiations on Thursday. (Football Italia)
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has predicted left-back Luke Shaw, a £27m signing from Southampton last summer, will have a big season for the club in the forthcoming campaign. (Manchester Evening News)
Midfielder Jonas Gutierrez, 32, says Newcastle were wrong to let him go at the end of last season. (Chronicle)
Louis van Gaal could be forced to undertake a gruelling pre-season trip to China next summer with Manchester United's major sponsors increasingly keen to exploit the club's commercial power in the Far East. (Daily Telegraph)
Stoke City are still interested in signing Dynamo Kiev's 25-year-old winger Andriy Yarmolenko and Barcelona's 19-year-old winger Adama Traore. (Stoke Sentinel)
Mathieu Flamini has suggested Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho acted out of character this summer by accepting the "good favour" that owner Roman Abramovich did Arsenal over the sale of Petr Cech. (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea's 23-year-old winger Mohamed Salah is set to join Roma on a season-long loan, although fellow Italian club Fiorentina believe the Egyptian has reneged on an agreement to join them. (Daily Star)
Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert could be set for a reunion with former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur. West Brom are also interested in signing the 33-year-old. (Times - subscription required)
Leicester City are prepared to pay £11m to sign Chile midfielder Charles Aranguiz from Brazilian club Internacional, amid rival interest from Bayer Leverkusen and Marseille. (Sun - subscription required)
Best of social media
Anything you can do I can do better? Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny produced a superb rabona in training and then laid down the gauntlet to Cristiano Ronaldo by uploading the video to Instagram and writing the message: 'Can you do this @cristiano!'
Didier Drogba is leaving on a jet plane...and seems to be flying it himself too. The former Chelsea striker tweeted a picture of himself in the cockpit of an aeroplane along with the caption: 'On my way to @impactmontreal' Drogba, 37, signed for MLS side Montreal Impact on 27 July.
And finally...
Zinedine Zidane may have hung up his football boots but perhaps a new career in rugby could be on the cards? The former France international scored a stunning try from his own half in a recent charity match. (Daily Mail)
'The Beautiful Game Turns Ugly'. That is the name of a new exhibition dedicated to the Fifa corruption scandal, to open at the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement in the American city of Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Sun)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Scott Murray
The poor mouth is not a convincing look for the world’s self-styled superclubs. Everyone can see right through it. Paris Saint Germain have been annoying the hell out of Manchester United recently by tabling ludicrously low bids for Ángel Di María. Now United are pulling out the lining of their trouser pockets and ostentatiously shrugging in front of Real Madrid, offering a mere £60m for old boy Cristiano Ronaldo when the Spaniards are demanding £85m. If only you’d kept quiet about your turnover and how many shirts you shift in Asia.
Real Madrid are responding to this, and United’s continued wooing of Sergio Ramos, by making a new, improved bid for David de Gea. Everyone’s digging their heels in right now, but if there’s a breakthrough in just one negotiation, all manner of fresh hell is going to be unleashed. We’ll be charting the aftershocks in at least another 30 Rumour Mills. It’ll be safe to come back in September.
The pretty aesthetes of Arsenal haven’t fielded a player who can leave a foot in since the days of Wilf Copping. [Subs, please check, but that sounds about right.] Arsène Wenger is finally prepared to compromise his purist philosophy by signing one, though he’ll only cede so much ground in the argument. He wants Sergio Busquets. If he has to sign a player who breaks up play, he wants the guy who does it for Barcelona.
Chelsea’s furtive attempts to quietly tease John Stones away from Everton has suddenly escalated into a mass brawl. Also poking out of a large cartoon cloud which has, in no time, exploded out of thin air: legs and fists owned by representatives of Manchester United and Manchester City. Everton could trouser upwards of £30m here, which is all good news, though it’s going to be very interesting watching Roberto Martínez build a defence, isn’t it?
Chelsea have also been sniffing around Chile’s Copa América-winning midfielder Charles Aránguiz, but they’ll face opposition from Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City. The Foxes, who have an Esteban Cambiasso-shaped hole to fill, are the most determined and are bidding accordingly.
Bologna is the latest likely destination for Mario Balotelli. Should mercurial Mario do one, it’d leave Liverpool with only 938 strikers on their books. Plugging the gap: Thomas Müller of Bayern Munich, a strange rumour which appears designed to encourage Manchester United into making a decisive cash bid for one of their top targets. Clever agents, playing newspapers, clubs and fans like fiddles.
Rickie Lambert is also for the off. Tottenham Hotspur are now in for the big man, who worked well under Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton. So the dream move to Liverpool never worked out for poor Rickie. Ah well, such is life, but he’ll always have that crowd-plunging celebration at Aston Villa.
And finally, Crystal Palace are interested in Swansea centre-back Ashley Williams. But not at £25m. Alan Pardew is currently pulling out the lining of his trouser pockets and ostentatiously shrugging. It’s still not a good look, considering the size of the new TV deal. The Mill shouldn’t just call out the superclubs.
Turkish Football
Former Arsenal & West Ham midfielder Alex Song linked with move to Turkish champions
The former Arsenal and West Ham United defensive midfielder Alex Song has been linked with a move to Galatasaray according to Futbol Arena.
The states that the Fifa accredited football agent Ayhan Yeşilbaş has offered the Cameroon international to the Istanbul giants.
Galatasaray are on the lookout for a new defensive midfielder following reports linking Felipe Melo with a move to Inter Milan.
Song provided three assists in 28 appearances while on loan at West Ham last season.
The 27-year-old has previously played for Charlton Athletic, Bastia and Barcelona.
Song is currently contracted to Barcelona until 2017 but is expected to leave this summer after falling out of favour with the La Liga champions.
Southampton are also involved in the race to sign the defensive midfielder according to the Mirror.
Galatasaray won the league title for the 20th time last season and secured a place in the Champions League group stages.
ESPN
West Ham hope to bid farewell to Upton Park in style this season
By Peter Thorne
West Ham will play their final season at Upton Park this season and hope to end their association with the storied ground on a high note. Here's a look at what to expect from Slaven Bilic's men as we approach the new campaign...
Preview
To finish the last season at Upton Park as an established, strong yet entertaining Premier League side capable of pushing on to bigger things.
Biggest concern
Involvement in the bloated Europa League has stymied bigger clubs than West Ham in the past, and the July start has only added to the pressure. The unexpected bonus of European competition does provide fans with something of a fairytale end to the club's last season at the their home ground, but it will be a major surprise if the extra matches and the strains put on a smaller squad don't catch up with West Ham at some stage.
The Hammers must go into the Olympic Stadium as a strong Premier League side at least looking to threaten the top six. They should have enough good players to avoid the relegation dogfight but make no mistake: only when the final whistle blows on the last day and West Ham are still in the top flight will supporters stop worrying.
Player to watch
Dimitri Payet is something of a marquee signing for West Ham.
The 28-year-old French international arrives with a solid reputation and could surely have chosen a club in the Champions League had he wanted. Last season's statistics of seven goals and 16 assists in 36 appearances would be impressive enough, but by creating more successful through balls than any other player in Europe outside of Lionel Messi, Payet has the creative spark that the Hammers have long searched for.
Marseille were understandably reluctant to lose Payet and complained bitterly that clubs in France are unable to compete with the money available in the Premier League. Big money being available in England isn't a surprise, but what is a shock is that the likes of West Ham were able to wave the cheque book hard enough to convince Payet to sign.
Over the past few seasons, the Hammers have defended stoutly enough to get a result or battered the opposition into submission. What they have lacked is someone with guile and vision who can do something different. Payet could be just what the Upton Park crowd have wanted for many years.
Manager focus
Slaven Bilic takes over from Sam Allardyce on wings of hope and optimism.
The former Hammers defender returns to the club he played for in 1996 hoping to be both an inspiration and a breath of fresh air. As a popular player under Harry Redknapp, Bilic can certainly tap into the "West Ham family" association so beloved by East Enders.
He also brings international experience and a reputation for being a manager that players like to play for. It also doesn't hurt that he likes his football played the "West Ham way," with a focus on an attacking and entertaining style of play.
Nevertheless, it is also undoubtedly true that Bilic wasn't the first choice of joint-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, even if he was the preferred option of many fans. There also has to be questions over the Croatian's experience at club level and, critically, the Premier League.
However, if ever there was a season to try and find your way into both the Premier League and the Upton Park hot seat, then this would be it. With every game being a last hurrah to the opposition at Upton Park, Bilic can rely on unwavering, vociferous and passionate support. It should be enough for the time being.
Predicted XI
Alex Song is back at Barcelona but West Ham remain keen on signing him.
Predicted Finish - 8th
View from the stands
Opposition you dislike most
Tottenham Hotspur have long been the team that West Ham fans love to hate but the two have rarely been on a level playing field and the sad fact is that Hammer fans are usually confined to celebrating Tottenham's own failures rather than those delivered from East London.
The protracted battle over tenancy of the Olympic Stadium with Spurs trying to muscle in on West Ham's manor in Stratford moved the antipathy into new territory, however.
It was an attempted coup that no Hammers fan can forgive or forget, changing a fierce rivalry into realms of genuine hatred. If, as expected by most neutral observers, West Ham are to become a bigger player in the league in their new home, they'll need to step up and aiming to compete with Tottenham must be the initial target. The next few seasons could move this intense rivalry up several notches.
Opposition you admire most
Of all the perennial Champions League sides, Arsenal are the only ones who garner a grudging respect.
The fans are still arrogant and the complaints about not winning the Premier League still continue of course, but it's now done with a bit of style.
Best Away Fans
There is much familiarity in the make-up of Newcastle and West Ham fans.
Both view their club as an extension to the family, while being inordinately suspicious of outsiders managing or running their club.
Both display a passion that borders on religious zeal while also sharing an appreciation of the ridiculous and a penchant for gallows humour when times get rough -- which is usually quite often. And it is only the older supporters who can claim to remember any of the glory days too.
Best Away Grounds
St. James' Park -- A historical and legendary ground full of passionate and vociferous fans with a high expectation that is seldom met. It's just like playing at Upton Park.
The Etihad -- Manchester City are still the big club it's acceptable to like. The fans seem pleasantly surprised that they aren't still playing Gillingham, while the array of top-quality players they watch every week still appears to make them slightly giddy. It's quite touching in an odd way.
Peter Thorne is the author of a regular column at the East London Guardian.
