THE SUN: Manchester City plan a £9.6million swoop for Rennes midfield ace Stephane Mbia.
John Terry is out of England's World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan.
And he is also struggling for next Wednesday's big match in Belarus. Skipper Terry suffered a recurrence of a back injury and could manage just 20 minutes in a practice match yesterday. Emile Heskey is also a doubt for Saturday after he too limped out of training.
Also: David Bentley broke his silence over the Tottenham crisis last night and admitted: People are laughing at us - and we have to stop it...West Ham have broken Premier League rules again - by letting an unregistered doctor treat players.

>> Battle for 14 year-old 'new Ronaldinho'

DAILY MIRROR: Mark Hughes is eyeing up Italian playmaker Antonio Cassano as Javier Garrido claims Manchester City will sign more world-class stars in January. Cassano is back in Italy with Sampdoria following an unhappy spell at Real Madrid and would jump at the chance of being reunited with Robinho. City boss Hughes considered bidding for Cassano before he joined Sampdoria permanently from Real in the summer and the midfielder remains on his radar. Also: Ruud van Nistelrooy has risked the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson again by insisting Real Madrid will sign Cristiano Ronaldo...Hull City's chairman Paul Duffen has insisted it is fans and not businessmen who own the souls of football clubs.

DAILY MAIL: John Terry is out of England's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday and is a major doubt for the trip to Belarus on Wednesday after suffering a recurrence of a back injury. Rio Ferdinand will captain the country in his place as Terry, who suffered the initial injury while playing for Chelsea in the Champions League in Cluj last week, was forced out of a practice match after just half an hour. Emile Heskey also limped out of Wednesday's 90-minute match at England's London Colney training base complaining of a back injury. Also: The financial threat to West Ham's future was brought into sharp focus yesterday after it was revealed that owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson has lost £360million following the Icelandic banking collapse...Premier League clubs were yesterday threatened with exclusion from the Champions League and the UEFA Cup if they fail to address their mounting debts.

DAILY EXPRESS: Chelsea last night refused to accept any blame for driving up fees and wages and causing football's debt mountain. Club chairman Bruce Buck claimed instead that the Blues were victims of their own bulging wallet, with other clubs bumping up prices just for them. He said: "From the start there was a transfer market for everyone else and then one for Chelsea. When a player was being sold, if we were interested then the price doubled. The problem is that everyone wants to charge Chelsea more than anyone else." Also: English clubs were last night threatened with the harshest of sanctions if they do not cut down their massive debts - a ban from European football...Wales captain Craig Bellamy claims that Premier League managers have tried to stop him playing for his country. Bellamy has 51 caps over 10 years, but he says that while top managers allow England players to play internationals, there has been pressure on him not to go with Wales.

DAILY STAR: William Gallas last night amazingly confessed he is jeopardising Arsenal's title chances. The Gunners skipper admitted his career was in crisis because he cannot put a run of good performances together. Gallas, 31, also told fans to blame him for the shocking 2-1 home defeat by Hull 12 days ago - only Arsenal's second league loss at the Emirates since the club moved there over two seasons ago. Also: Roy Keane has had a pop at the Premier League's big four's young talent, claiming they have been bought - and not groomed...Steve Bruce has vowed to battle to keep hold of Honduran star Wilson Palacios despite interest from Manchester United.

DAILY TELEGRAPH: Football Association chairman Lord Triesman's criticism of the indebtedness of English football appears to have spooked bankers with at least three Premier League clubs receiving cautionary calls from lenders. Details of the banks' concerns emerged as Culture Secretary Andy Burnham met the League's chief executive Richard Scudamore at Westminster yesterday with the League under renewed pressure from UEFA over the financial state of England's leading clubs.

THE TIMES: The landscape of Formula One is to change dramatically with the introduction of a standard engine for all cars in a move designed to make the sport cheaper for aspiring new teams. Under a Formula One "survival" plan being drawn up by Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's commercial rights holder, and Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, the engines would each be designed to last for half the season and would potentially reduce the hugely expensive cost of powering the race cars by up to 90 per cent within two years.

THE GUARDIAN: The £1billion athletes' village for the 2012 Olympic Games could be completely nationalised as a result of the banking crisis, the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority admitted yesterday.

THE INDEPENDENT: John Terry is out of Fabio Capello's team for the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday. The England captain was forced to withdraw from a practice match staged for the England squad behind closed doors yesterday with a back problem that is not responding to treatment.