Sol walks mystery blonde

Sol Campbell is not often sidelined by a dog while out with a beautiful woman. But on a shopping trip to New York, his mystery blonde companion appeared much closer to the fluffy little bichon frise than to the strapping international footballer.

Were it not for an injury, the Arsenal and England centre-back would have been with his international teammates preparing for a European Championship qualifying match against Slovakia.

But instead the 29-year-old - who earns about £100,000 a week - was strolling around the shops and boutiques of New York's trendy SoHo district yesterday.

Campbell, who claims to be "quite shy" with females but is one of football's most eligible bachelors, has lately been linked to several beautiful women. He was reportedly so taken with a picture of dancer Lisa Welham, 21, he tracked her down. The pair quickly became inseparable but the relationship turned sour when he was photographed with another blonde, 19-year-old Austrian Alena Pitzer, this time in Rome.

Campbell, who lives in a £3million house in Hampstead, has also been linked to former Spice Girl Mel C and TV presenter and model Gabrielle Richens.

However, he said recently of marriage: "When I come to the end of my career, when my focus is on something else, I'll look at life in a different way. I want kids. I want a happy family. I want to create a kind of dynasty."

He added: "I'm like 90 per cent of footballers. When we meet a woman we are thinking: Are they just after me for the money?" Campbell has also been rumoured to be gay. He said: "Because people haven't seen me in the papers with women, they assume things. I am also quite shy when it comes to women."