Papers: Carroll worth £1m

The Sun has obtained a copy of Newcastle's business plan for last season, a document which was put together to lure in potential buyers for the club. In it, Carroll was given the paltry valuation and a 'to be monitored' status, meaning that the Toon would have almost certainly flogged him off if someone had met their valuation.

As it was, nobody did - and the young striker first fired Newcastle to the Championship title, then hit the ground running in the Premier League this season, prompting Liverpool's £35m leap of faith in January.

AC Milan have joined the race to sign Southampton starlet Alex Chamberlain.

The 17-year-old winger was the subject of fevered speculation in January, with Manchester United and Arsenal both apparently tussling over his signature.

But now the Daily Star claims that the Serie A leaders have joined the hunt to land the £10m-rated League One player.

If Chamberlain does indeed head to Italy, he might be able to cadge a lift to the airport with Carlo Ancelotti: the Daily Mail reports that the Chelsea boss has held talks with Roma about taking over as manager of the Italian side. Ancelotti has long been linked with a move back to the side where he spent eight years as a player, and his former Italy team-mate Ruggiero Rizzitelli has claimed that the negotiations are under way but will boil down to money.

The news that Alex Ferguson has been charged by the FA over his comments about referee Martin Atkinson take up plenty of column inches, with the big news being that Fergie will be hit by a five match ban.

We're not really sure what difference a ban for a manager makes. Surely he'll still be able to train his team, watch the games on a TV feed, and give instructions to his number two via mobile phone or walkie-talkie? It's a bit like banning someone from going to the cinema but telling them that they can still see the same films on their big-screen TV at home.

Meanwhile, one of The Sun's idiotic columnists defends Fergie on the basis that he was right - which might be true, but completely misses the point of the charge, i.e. that referees do a critical but utterly thankless task and deserve to be treated with a bit of respect.

Such subtleties appear lost on Ferguson, who according to The Guardian will now refuse to give interviews even to Manchester United's in-house TV show in fury at what he sees as an unjust charge.

In other transfer gossip today, Chelsea have given a trial to former Barcelona wunderkind Cristian Ceballos after the 16-year-old left the Camp Nou, while Gael Clichy could be sold by Arsenal this summer after contract negotiations stalled.

And finally, Stephen Ireland has lifted the lid on his miserable spell at Aston Villa, with the Daily Express reporting comments made by the talented but slippery Irishman to a French magazine

The 24-year-old reveals that he refused to move closer to the club following his move from Manchester City because, "Birmingham is a rubbish town as it is but on top of that I wasn't playing, so I wasn't going to make that effort."

He also alleges that he had to pay for his own medical treatment at the club, and that Gerard Houllier refused to play him even though he "was the best player in training".

It doesn't stop there: Ireland also explains why he refuses to play for his country: "I don't give a damn for Ireland," he said. "Live in Cork? I'd rather shoot myself... Even if Ireland had qualified for the World Cup I wouldn't have gone."