From the back pages, May 26: Arsenal ready to break the bank and lure wantaway Rooney to Emirates

JOSE MOURINHO wants Luka Modric to join him at Chelsea. The Special One is quitting Real Madrid for Stamford Bridge next week and hopes the Croatian playmaker will follow him out of the Bernabeu. (The Sun)

David Moyes last night took the axe to Sir Alex Ferguson’s backroom staff at Manchester United. He booted out No.2 Mike Phelan and goalkeeping coach Eric Steele. Phelan, 50, had been Fergie’s faithful right-hand man since 2008, but Moyes wants his own assistants. (The Mirror)

ANDROS TOWNSEND pulled out of Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 squad for the European Championship last night after being charged in relation to a series of betting irregularities. (Express)

If you were seeking the distillation of the confidence playing for Bayern Munich breeds in its players, especially this recent gilded generation of Germans, then watching Philipp Lahm and Thomas Müller face questions yesterday at Wembley was an emphatic reminder of how they regard themselves. (The Independent)

To lose one of the star turns from the field at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday was bad enough. To lose four of them was nothing short of a calamity. After two days of golf in freezing cold, wet conditions, the European Tour’s flagship event found itself bidding farewell to Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter. And had Justin Rose not birdied the final hole in a round of 74, he too would have been on his way. (The Times)

Monaco have signed the Porto midfield duo João Moutinho and James Rodríguez for a combined £60m. According to the Portuguese club’s website, Monaco will be paying €45m (£38.5m) for Rodríguez and €25m for Moutinho. (The Guardian)