Only six months ago, City turned down a £5m (€7.3m) bid from Newcastle for the 27-year-old, and Pearce has assured Blues fans their captain is staying at Eastlands.

“Sylvain is not going anywhere,” said Pearce. “He is staying at Manchester City.”

Rather than letting players go, Pearce is more interested in bringing another two or three in.

The former England skipper is aware his current squad does not have the depth required to sustain their unbeaten run, which has taken them into third spot ahead of Saturday’s clash with Portsmouth.

Pearce is still waiting to hear an official verdict from Bolton on his £1m (€1.4m) bid for Stelios Giannakopoulos, while he is still pondering whether to make an approach to Norwich for striker Dean Ashton.

Bolton were unhappy with City’s approach for Giannakopoulos, which was revealed on the opening day of the season, and they complained again yesterday after Liverpool expressed a firm interest hours before the Trotters faced Newcastle.

“We have still got an offer in on Stelios and we are waiting for a reply,” said Pearce.

“I have no axe to grind with Bolton. How they react is their business. I would like to bring two or three new players in before the deadline but if we don’t, we will look at the next deadline and then the one after that.”