Portsmouth are planning a �2m swoop for Manchester City goalkeeper David James. (The Sun)

Newcastle may attempt to hijack Middlesbrough's �3m move for Real Madrid midfielder Thomas Gravesen. (Daily Star)

Wigan are set to try to sign Nathan Ellington from West Brom - a year after selling him for �3m. (The Sun)

West Brom's rebel midfielder, Jason Koumas, is confident of sealing a �2m switch to Cardiff before the start of the Championship season at the weekend. (Daily Mirror)

Derby are preparing a �1m bid for Nottingham Forest striker Nathan Tyson. (The Sun)

Wolves striker Carl Cort has turned down a move to Crystal Palace, where he had the chance to link up with his brother Leon. (Various)

Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque has refused to discuss a move to Middlesbrough, despite a �4m fee being agreed. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle are targeting a �7m move for Empoli striker Francesco Tavano. (The Sun)

Liverpool are preparing to make a renewed bid for Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt. (The Sun)

Dunfermline have failed in a bid to sign Mark de Vries from Leicester on loan because of the striker's wage demands. (Daily Express)

Hearts have told Dunfermline and Motherwell they will not allow Calum Elliot to go on loan until they themselves sign another striker. (Daily Express)

Arsenal will name Ashley Cole in their squad for next week's Champions League qualifier, and if he plays he would be Cup-tied should any move to Chelsea materialise. (Various)

American billionaire Randy Lerner is on the brink of a takeover of Aston Villa. (Various)

Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker looks set to be recalled to the England squad by new national boss Steve McClaren. (Various)

McClaren wants to recruit a full-time manager for the England Under-21 side but it won't be Peter Taylor. (Guardian)

The publishers of Chelsea target Ashley Cole's autobiography are ready to delay its release in order to include the Arsenal defender's final bust-ups with the Gunners. (Daily Star)

Everton defender Tony Hibbert will miss the start of the season after being struck down by a mystery illness. (Daily Mirror)

Midfielder Luis Garcia has warned Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho that he will regret writing off the Anfield club's title chances. (The Sun)

Manchester United team-mates Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are photographed together for the first time since their World Cup bust-up in the match between England and Portugal but spent much of the training session apart. (The Sun)

Celtic forward Shaun Maloney faces a race against time to be fit for the start of the Champions League campaign in September because he will have a double hernia operation on Friday. (Daily Record)

Southampton boss George Burley will not allow technical director Clive Woodward to take any first-team coaching sessions this season. (Daily Express)

Overheard in a Liverpool betting shop: "Ken Bates wants penalties at Chelsea." Response: "No chance, Frank Lampard will take them again this season." (Daily Mirror)

Almost a month after the World Cup final and Zinedine Zidane is still in the head(butt)lines. Zhao Xiaokai has trademarked a silhouette of the infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi and is inviting bids of �65,000 (1m RMB) for the rights to the image. Reports in China say two beer brands are interested.

And back in France, Zizou is ranked number one again - in the charts at least. A song - "Coup de Boule" - parodying the former national captain's antics against Italy has gone down better than Materazzi. Spanish and Italian versions already exist, an English one is in the pipeline and mobile phone ringtones of the "Headbutt" have been downloaded 110,000 times, proving particularly popular in Japan.