Arsenal want £5m-rated Blaise Matuldi as cover for injured Cesc Fabregas

The injury sustained at the weekend during the 4-1 win over Portsmouth by Cesc Fabregas which looks like keeping the Arsenal captain out of action has prompted manager Arsene Wenger to dip back into the transfer market, with the Saint-Etienne midfielder Blaise Matuidi his prime target, the Daily Mail claims. The 22-year-old, who has represented France at every level up to U21, has drawn comparisons with Patrick Vieira, and while his club has no desire to sell him, a £5m offer from the Emirates club is believed to be enough to convince the youngster and Saint-Etienne to let him come to London...

As if the concept of Sven-Goran Eriksson overseeing the rise of League Two minnows Notts County wasn't incredible enough, the former England manager has now managed to persuade one of his charges from the national team to join the revolution at Meadow Lane. According to the Times, Sol Campbell has agreed to join the club and has already passed a medical. The 34-year-old former Arsenal and Portsmouth defender, who has won two Premier Leagues and four FA Cups, is likely to earn the highest wage in the division for the table-topping outfit...

Having finally sealed the protracted transfer of Joleon Lescott from Everton, Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has moved quickly to add some reserve strength to the Eastlands club's defence with the signing of 35-year-old Brazilian defender Sylvinho. The former Barcelona player, who featured in last season's Champions League final victory over Manchester United, was released by the Camp Nou club over the summer, and has signed a one-year deal at City, the Daily Telegraph reports. The veteran Sylvinho, who played at Arsenal before moving to Spain, has picked up two Champions League medals and won La Liga three times while at Barca...

Meanwhile, Everton have spent some of the £22m that Manchester City paid for Lescott on attacking midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov of Lokomotiv Moscow. The Russians had wanted £10m for the 24-year-old international, who signed a five-year deal for the Liverpool club after meeting Everton officials in hamburg yesterday to thrash out the deal. Everton gaffer David Moyes was given a glowing reference for the player from his international coach Guus Hiddink, and had tried to bring him to Goodison Park last summer... ·