Football rumours from today's newspapers

• New West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan have made a sensational swoop for Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, offering him £100,000-a-week to move to Upton Park. (The Sun)



• However, Tottenham are now favourites to sign Dutchman Van Nistelrooy after the former Manchester United player rejected a big-money offer from the Hammers. (Daily Mail)



• Tottenham, Sunderland and Manchester City are all chasing Portsmouth defender Younes Kaboul, with Spurs putting together a £10m bid. (Daily Mail)



• Spurs are closing in on a £11m swoop for Palermo central defender Simon Kjaer, but the player's wage demands are proving to be a problem. (The Mirror)



• Postmouth goalkeeper David James's loan move to Stoke is back on as the clubs have renewed talks. (The Guardian)



• Manchester United and Manchester City are both interested in Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini. The 25-year-old's agent says he is also talking to Tottenham. (Daily Mail)



• Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has promised Arsenal and Liverpool that he will make a decision about his future by the end of the month. (The Mirror)



• Aston Villa have played down reports saying they are close to signing Rangers striker Kris Boyd. (The Independent)



• West Ham and Birmingham are both keen on signing AC Milan striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on loan. (The Mirror)



• Sunderland are set to complete a £1.8m move for 32-year-old Aston Villa defender Habib Beye. (The Sun)



• Manchester City are weighing up a £5m move for Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. Sunderland, Chelsea and Wolves are also interested in the 22-year-old. (The Sun)



• Meanwhile, City coach Roberto Mancini has confirmed his interest in Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago. (Daily Mail)



• Burnley manager Brian Laws is hoping that Portsmouth see "common sense" and allow David Nugent to stay on loan at Turf Moor until the end of the season. (Daily Express)



• Wigan are looking to spring a surprise signing with a £5m bid for 23-year-old Villarreal striker Marco Ruben. (Daily Mail)



• Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will finally walk away from Notts County next week if the club cannot find fresh investment to stave off a winding-up order. (The Times)

OTHER GOSSIP

• Arsenal defender William Gallas will not receive any punishment for his challenge on Mark Davies in the 4-2 victory over Bolton on Wednesday. After the game, angry Bolton boss Owen Coyle said the challenge "was closer to an assault than a tackle". (The Times)



• Bolton's anger over the tackle and the fact that the ball was not put out of play is showing no signs of diminishing, with Wanderers defender Paul Robinson saying: "It was a disgusting tackle. He's lucky he hasn't broken his leg. We deserved better and are disappointed not to have got anything." (Daily Telegraph)



• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his players: "If anyone steps out of control, that's them dead." The Scot was talking at a lecture in Dublin. (The Sun)



• Cash-strapped Derby have placed every member of the squad on the transfer list as they try to raise £8m by the end of the month. (The Mirror)

AND FINALLY...

• So what did Carlos Tevez really say about his former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville in a South American radio interview? He's a "moron" (Daily Mirror and Daily Express), "idiot and creep" (Daily Star and Daily Mail), "stupid bootlicker" (The Sun) and a "bootlicking moron" (Guardian, Independent and The Times) are the general themes.