Barcelona’s long-running pursuit of Arsenal FC midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fábregas (22) appears finally to be nearing a successful conclusion. The Arsenal midfielder has apparently made it clear to Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger that the time is right for him to return to the Camp Nou, as revealed by renowned Spanish football expert Guillem Balague on his personal blog and also to Madrid sports paper AS.
Fábregas went back to Catalonia tonight after a brief spell in London undergoing medical tests on his fractured leg, suffered against Barça in March, having indicated to Wenger that he now wishes to leave them after seven years in England. The manager will seek to speak with the 23-year-old again later this week, though it appears the Spaniard’s mind is made up.
The Gunners have been consistently resistant to losing a player who arrived from Camp Nou as a 16-year-old and has become their talisman in recent trophyless seasons, and may insist he hands in a formal transfer request before allowing any move to progress. However, they will effectively have little choice but to sanction a transfer now that he has made it clear he does not wish to stay.
Barcelona hope to secure the player for around £30m, and could offer to include the unsettled Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Touré or even the Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic as part of the deal, though there is no guarantee that the Londoners would accept either player. They will seek nearer £40m for their captain, a demand that will prompt what is likely to prove a protracted and fractious period of negotiations, with Wenger having gone on record towards the end of last season that he was under “no financial pressure” to sell.
Yet there is an acceptance at Arsenal that where previous attempts from Barça to secure the player have been successfully deflected, they will be fighting a losing battle on this occasion. Fábregas, who has four years to run on a contract signed back in 2006, indicated last week that he hoped to clarify his future before the World Cup finals, with the outgoing Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, anxious to conclude deals for the midfielder and the Valencia striker David Villa ahead of the club’s presidential elections on 13 June.
Laporta would consider the eye-catching signings to be his legacy to the Spanish champions.
