Gossip column: Pogba, Sterling, Benzema, De Gea, Casillas, Dzeko

Chris Gayle and David Beckham meet in London

The back page of Thursday's Daily Star

Thibaut Courtois: Chelsea demand £73m

The back page of Thursday's Sun

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been promised a blank cheque with which to transform the club into one capable of ruling Europe. (Sun- subscription required) 

Pellegrini wants to sign Juventus' France midfielder Paul Pogba, 22, and Liverpool's England forward Raheem Sterling, 20, in the summer. (Daily Mail) 

Real Madrid's France forward Karim Benzema, 27, could join Manchester United in a move that would see Spain goalkeeper David De Gea, 24, leave Old Trafford for the Bernabeu. (Telegraph) 

Arsenal will try to buy Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 34, if his club Real Madrid sign De Gea. (London Evening Standard) 

Injury-plagued midfielder Abou Diaby, 29, could be given a chance to continue his career at Arsenal under a pay-as-you-play contract despite being named on the official list of players released by Premier League clubs on Wednesday. (Times - subscription required)

Former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 23, could return to the Premier League after the Belgium international confirmed his agent has had initial talks with Manchester City. (Sky Sports) 

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been banned from driving for six months after being caught doing 60mph in a 50mph zone. (Mirror) 

More from BBC Sport

Chelsea have attempted to ward off interest in goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by placing a £73m price tag on the 23-year-old. (Telegraph) 

England right-back Glen Johnson, 30, is expected to join Turkish side Besiktas after being released by Liverpool. (Liverpool Echo) 

Manchester City will release defender Micah Richards, 26, but retain third-choice goalkeeper Richard Wright, 37, who has never played a competitive first-team football match since joining the club in 2012. (Manchester Evening News) 

Tottenham have made the first move to sign Burnley right-back Kieran Trippier. The former England Under-21 international, 24, also linked with Liverpool and Southampton, has a £3.5m release clause in his contract. (Mirror) 

Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton has advised new Hammers boss Slaven Bilic to make QPR forward Charlie Austin, 25, his main transfer target. (Talksport) 

Senior England players have told manager Roy Hodgson their training sessions are too tough. (Sun - subscription required) 

New Newcastle manager Steve McClaren will collect a £1m bonus if he can win the club their first trophy in 47 years. (Daily Star) 

Burnley will receive less money from Liverpool for forward Danny Ings than they hoped for. A tribunal will decide the fee - Burnley want £10m for the 22-year-old, but Liverpool value him at no more than £6m. (Daily Mail) 

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves says the club have no chance of winning the Champions League in 2015-16. (Daily Star) 

The European Parliament is expected to call on outgoing Fifa president Sepp Blatter to step down immediately on Thursday. (Guardian) 

Former Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd says appointing Steve McClaren as the club's new head coach is a "great move". (Newcastle Chronicle) 

Lazio's Brazil midfielder Felipe Anderson, 22, who has been linked with a move to either Manchester United or Chelsea, says he will not be leaving the Serie A club. (Express) 

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke's plans for further quotas of home-grown players in the Premier League would "decimate" club academies, according to Tom Fox, Aston Villa's chief executive. (Times - subscription required) 

Chelsea's Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard, 24, the PFA Player of the Year, has credited last summer's big signings - Spain internationals Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa - with helping him play better than ever before. (London Evening Standard) 

Celtic are interested in taking Real Madrid's 16-year-old Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard on loan next season. (AS) 

Best of social media

Former Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton thinks the appointment of Steve McClaren as the club's new head coach is a good one. Barton writes on Twitter:  "Very shrewd appointment by Newcastle. Great coach Steve. He has all the qualities needed to succeed there."

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer hopes new manager Steve McClaren will take the FA Cup and League Cup seriously during his time at the club. Shearer writes on Twitter:  "We can only win two things. Please try and win one by playing strongest team. Congratulations and good luck Steve."

Two legends of their respective sports met on Wednesday as former England captain David Beckham bumped into West Indies batsman Chris Gayle while shopping in London. The latter posted a picture of the pair on Instagram, with the message: 'I've said before, it doesn't hurt to do a bit of shopping! @davidbeckham'

Manchester United and Argentina defender Marcos Rojo posts a picture on Twitter  of him and international team-mates Ezequiel Lavezzi and Mariano Andujar in their hotel. Rojo, who will be playing in the Copa America which starts on Thursday, writes: "Relaxing a bit before training."

Midfielder Ravel Morrison may only be 22 and had his West Ham contract terminated in February, but he wants to take charge of the club in future. He writes on Twitter:  "One day I would love to manage West Ham and take them to the Champions League."

And finally

West Ham chairman David Gold got the wrong man as he posted a message on Twitter saying "I am delighted to announce the signing of 23-year-old midfielder Pedro Obiang from Sampdoria. Pedro, welcome". Unfortunately for Gold, he attached a picture of Juventus' Italian defender Angelo Ogbonna. (Metro) 

Christian Benteke's agent has been left embarrassed after revealing to a prank caller the Belgium striker will not sign a new contract at Aston Villa. (Sky Sports)