Chelsea target £40m Franck Ribery

Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has made a last-ditch attempt to persuade Bayern Munich's wantaway French winger Franck Ribery to swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League. The Sun reveals that the Russian tycoon spoke to Bayern's general manager at the weekend, and is so committed to sealing the £40m transfer of the international, who was also courted by Real Madrid and Manchester United during the close season, that he will fly out to Bavaria to ensure that a deal can be reached. It would be new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti's first 'marquee' signing...

David Beckham must leave Los Angeles Galaxy and return to playing regular football in a top European Championship, England coach Fabio Capello told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, if he is to stand a chance of making the national squad for the World Cup. The news will alert Chelsea and Spurs to the possibility of picking up the right sided midfielder at some point during the winter, when his deal in LA comes to an end, but Becks' previous club AC Milan would still be very keen on picking him up, claims the Daily Mail, and Arsenal too could see the merit in a short loan spell...

Arsenal's interest in Fulham defensive rock Brede Hangeland will be strongly resisted, the Times reports, as Arsene Wenger looks to replenish his squad following a summer of departures. The Norwegian international was outstanding for the west Londoners last season, helping them to their best ever league finish and a place in the Europa League. Arsenal could go up to £15m for the centre back, but resolute Fulham boss Roy Hodgson looks likely to stand firm in the face of the pressure...

One player who is desperate to go to Arsenal, according to the Guardian, is Inter Milan's Patrick Vieira, who has been linked for the last few weeks with a romantic - if somewhat unlikely - move back to the club where he made his name. Arsene Wenger has previously talked about the "psychological impact" that the return of Vieira could have on the underperforming young Gunners - the Senegalese midfielder won three Premier League trophies and four FA Cups while at Arsenal...