Arsenal and Tottenham are both chasing French left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto. (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is ready to smash the club's transfer record and pay �5m to West Brom for Curtis Davies. (The Sun)

Paris St Germain will release Lionel Letizi from his contract so the veteran goalkeeper can join Rangers. (Daily Record)

Spurs are ready to make a �2m bid for unhappy Blackburn star Steven Reid. (The Sun)

Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has been in talks with Graeme Souness about the vacant manager's post at Selhurst Park. (Various)

Joleon Lescott is poised to join Everton from Wolves in a �5m deal. (The Sun)

Fulham are ready to pay �3m for Birmingham striker Emile Heskey. (The Guardian)

Djibril Cisse's move to Marseille is in trouble because the French club do not want to be involved in a bidding war for the unsettled Liverpool striker. (Various)

Leeds United are interested in Everton's out-of-contract defender, David Weir. (Various)

Hearts are lining up bids for Marian Pahars, released by Southampton, and fellow Latvian striker Andrejs Prohorenkovs, presently with Dynamo Moscow (The Herald)

Celtic have had a �75,000 bid for 17-year-old midfielder Kevin McDonald rejected by Dundee. (The Sun)

Hearts are chasing out-of-contract Celtic defender Stan Varga along with Real Madrid striker Javier Portillo and Anderlecht midfielder Martin Kolar. (Daily Express)

Dundee United want Aberdeen left-back Richie Byrne. (Daily Express)

Middlesbrough are set to sign Cameroon winger Rudolphe Douala from Sporting Lisbon for �2m. (The Sun)

Former QPR boss Ian Holloway is in the running for the vacant managerial job at Brentford. (Various)

Southampton are ready to pay �750,000 for Brentford's Sam Sodje. (The Sun)

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says striker Wayne Rooney has told him he is "300% sure" he will play at the World Cup. (Various)

Claims that Eriksson will be joining Real Madrid after the World Cup have been rubbished by the Swede's agent. (Daily Mirror)

Fifa president Sepp Blatter's list of offences for referees to look out for at the World Cup will lead to a rash of red cards at the tournament. (Daily Mirror)

England's players will net �300,000 per player if they lift the World Cup - which is three times the amount Brazil will get, but less than the bonus promised to Spain's players. (The Sun)

Paul Robinson fears the new World Cup ball will leave goalkeepers looking foolish because it is so lightweight and moves unpredictably in the air. (Various)

Argentine legend Diego Maradona says Michael Owen is ready to take the World Cup by storm. (Various)

Defender Ashley Cole struggled in training on Monday with a thigh injury and is a doubt for England's opening World Cup game. (The Independent)

Fears are growing that Germany star Michael Ballack is going to miss the host's opening World Cup game against Costa Rica on Friday. (Various)

England defender Gary Neville says England are good enough to win games outright at the World Cup - and will not need to go through the dreaded penalty shoot-out. (Various)

Brazil defender Roberto Carlos says England need to adopt a more adventurous style - or they will face more World Cup heartache. (Daily Mirror)

Sweden's players were given Monday off - as they have been training too hard in the previous week. (Daily Mirror)

Paraguay's skipper Carlos Gamarra says England will not even make it through Group B at the World Cup - he expects his side to join Sweden in the knock-out stages. (Various)

Spain striker Raul has rubbished claims that he will not be fit to play in the World Cup. (Daily Express)

A mystery punter will win �671,000 if Ronaldinho is the World Cup's top scorer - after correctly predicting the winners of the Greyhound Derby and the Epsom Derby.

His �1,000 accumulator has Ladbrokes sweating on their huge pay-out.

Cologne's central railway station has been adorned with a huge mural depicting many of the stars of the World Cup.

David Beckham is among those depicted in the soccer-themed sketch, alongside Michael Ballack and Zinedine Zidane.

Meanwhile, the residents of the German town of Unna have chosen to demonstrate their love of the World Cup by knitting a scarf which is eight miles long.

The residents of another German town, Oehringen, were left blubbing into their beer after their welcome party for the Australia team was snubbed.

The only squad member to attend was Luke Wilkshire - who plays for League One Bristol City.