Fabregas could join Real in return for Gonzalo Higuain

Arsene Wenger would consider selling Cesc Fabregas to Real Madrid according to reports in Spain, but only if he gets 22-year-old forward Gonzalo Higuain as part of the deal.

The Argentine forward is valued at at €35m, but that still leaves him a few million Euros less expensive than Fabregas so he could feature in the deal. But according to the Spanish sports paper Marca, Madrid would prefer to use  Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart as a makeweight in any deal as they do not want to lose Higuain.

Higuain for his part does not want to leave Madrid and while Fabregas has been linked with a move back to Spain he has played down the reports and says that his future lies with Arsenal.

One Arsenal legend who is on the move is Patrick Vieira. The last Arsenal skipper to win a trophy is to return to the Premier League with Manchester City provided he passes a medical this afternoon.

While City have not yet confirmed the deal the player has announced his intention of rejoining former Inter boss Roberto Mancini at Eastlands, and is expected to sign an 18-month contract.

The Arsenal legend said he was moving to help prolong his international career. He said: "I set myself an objective, I want to go to the World Cup. The important thing for me is to go to Manchester City and to show [Mancini] I'm the same player than when he was in charge of Inter.

"To go to the World Cup I need playing time and I can't reach my objective with Inter where I'm not a first-choice player."

No one knows for sure how huge he is exactly, but Lacine Traore is certainly big enough to be in the sights of Arsenal. According to both the Daily Express and Daily Mirror, Gunners' boss Arsene Wenger is determined to bring the 19-year-old Ivory Coast sensation to the Emirates.
 
The Mirror has Traore – who is already being labelled 'The New Adebayor' – standing at 6ft 8in while the Express goes for a more modest 6ft 6in, but it's clear the giant has more to his game than just size. He's already helped his Romanian club, FC Cluj, to glory in the Romanian Cup and Supercup competitions.

According to the Mirror, it would cost Arsenal £5million to bring Traore to north London and Cluj President Iuliu Muresan has confirmed Wenger's interest in the player. Muresan said: "We have been in contact with Arsenal but have not received any concrete offer," he is quoted as saying. "Four million euros is the fee we are looking for."

The Cluj coach, Andrea Mandorlini, describes Traore as lightning quick and "technically exceptional" while the player himself tells the Express he is thrilled to be on Arsenal's wishlist. "It would be a dream for me to get to play on a team so great," says Traore. "I have a chance there because Arsene Wenger relies heavily on young players. It is sensational to hear Wenger is watching me. I could be a success in England. Even though I am still young, I have a lot of experience and a lot of ambition."

Wenger picked up Togo-born Emmanuel Adebayor for just £7 m from Monaco in 2006, smoothed off a few rough edges, and then sold him on to Manchester City last summer for a cool £25m.

Sky Sports reports that Manchester United have failed – for the time being – to prise the highly-rated Hatem Ben Arfa from Marseille. The chairman of the French club, Jean-Claude Dassier, says it is "95 per cent" certain that the 22-year-old winger will remain at the Stade Velodrome until the end of the season.

Hatem Ben Arfa has played seven times for France but in recent months he has struggled to establish a regular role in the Marseille side and coach Didier Deschamps is said to be happy for him to leave, but only at the end of the current Ligue 1 season. Sky Sports says that Manchester United will face competition for Ben Arfa from Spanish club Sevilla and that Tottenham are also reported to be "keeping tabs on the situation".

Andrea Dossena has confirmed he has all but left Liverpool for Napoli. The Italian full-back has endured a miserable time of it at Anfield since arriving from Udinese in 2008. In 18 months he has made only 13 Premier League starts and it appears the 28-year-old can't wait to return to Serie A.

The Italian paper Il Mattino reports that he is expected to sign a four-and-a-half year contract with Napoli and quotes Dossena – who has made just five appearances for Liverpool this season – as saying: "I'm looking forward to embracing Napoli and to experience the emotion of the Stadio San Paolo."

According to Sky Sports terms have been agreed between the two clubs and the contract just needs to be signed by Dossena before an official announcement is made. ·