Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane has urged his former France team-mate Patrick Vieira to join him in Spain. (Daily Mirror, The Sun)

But it may be too late, with Juventus close to agreeing a fee of �12.3m for the Arsenal captain. (The Daily Telegraph)

On the other hand, Arsenal are demanding at least �20m, putting Real back in the box seat as they look to sign their first "galactico" of the summer. (Daily Express)

Chelsea will sweep aside objections from Lyon to finally clinch the �22m signing of Michael Essien. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United are to resurrect their interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack. (Daily Mail)

Man Utd striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been looking for a move - but neither Barcelona, Real Madrid nor AC Milan were interested in the 29-year-old. (The Sun)

Galatasaray have moved into pole position to sign Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires. (The Guardian, The Times)

Former Newcastle defender Olivier Bernard - available as a free agent - could be offered a chance at Birmingham. (Daily Express, The Sun)

West Ham are set to sign Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun. (The Sun)

Aberdeen have upped their bid for Dundee striker Steve Lovell to �200,000 and could complete the deal in the next 24 hours. (The Sun)

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan is hoping to sign Japanese playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura from Reggina. (Daily Record)

Liverpool have tabled a �7.5m bid for Real Zaragoza defender Gabriel Milito. (Various)

Sotirios Kyrgiakos has failed to report for training with Panathinaikos, despite a fee of �2m being agreed for a permanent move to Rangers, as the Greek defender prefers a move to Serie A in Italy. (Daily Express)