The Sun reports that Roman Abramovich is so determined to stick to a policy of bringing through young players that he will happily let Lampard, 34, and Cole, 31, walk away at the end of the season.
Rumours that Abramovich was pursuing a policy of restricting 30-somethings to short-term contracts first emerged before the start of the new season, but the form of Cole in particular had prompted speculation that there would be a re-think. That appears not to be the case.
"Frank and Ashley are still very important to Chelsea but if they stay it will only be on the club’s terms," a club source told the paper. "Didier (Drogba) held out for more than one year last season and was given a take-it-or-leave-it offer. The owner has made it clear the same will apply to Frank and Ashley.”
Cole is on the back of several other papers - and even on the front of one or two - shaking hands with Prince William aka the Duke of Cambridge. Apparently His Willsness joshed with Cole at the England training camp on Tuesday, telling the left-back that he'd have his Twitter account taken away if he "keeps on being a naughty boy".
Yet while the future monarch was speaking light-heartedly, the threat turns out to be true: the Daily Mail reveals that England players will in future be obliged to sign a six-page code of conduct agreement that will be tantamount to a gag order.
The new rules will be strictly enforced, the paper claims, saying that footballers could be "banned from representing their country if they step out of line."
Predictably, the FA appears to have no qualms about turning the England camp into an Orwellian nightmare.
"It's the most important thing I've got to deal with as chairman of the FA," FA chief David Bernstein said, a frankly ridiculous statement that Paper Round finds far more disturbing than a player reacting with a hot-headed outburst from time to time.
At least the affair which sparked Cole's now infamous Tweet finally seems to be over: The Times reports that John Terry will not appeal against his four-match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
The Daily Mirror's back page lead quoting Wayne Rooney that he wants to do for England what Eric Cantona did for Manchester United, by inspiring the team to greatness.
And it seems that he is already on the path of Cantona by indulging in whimsical, philosophical pondering as The Times reports beneath the headline, "I do wonder why I haven't played better for England, says Rooney." So do we all, Wayne, so do we all.
With the international week in full swing there's little other fresh transfer gossip, though last night's Evening Standard reported a story that Arsenal's accountants have officially written off the £5.5 million spent on Park-Ju Young last year.
