Arsenal to sell Cesc Fábregas to Barcelona if price is right

Arsenal are willing to sell their captain, Cesc Fábregas, to Barcelona if they can agree a fee, according to the BBC.
The 24-year-old World Cup winner has been continually linked with a move back to his boyhood club during recent transfer windows. Last summer Arsenal rejected a £30m offer for their inspirational skipper.
However, with Fábregas appearing more determined to rejoin the club he left as a teenager in 2003, Arsenal are said to be ready to allow the deal to go through, if Barcelona improve their £27m bid.
BBC Sport quote a senior Arsenal official as saying: "The offer was made formally in writing to our chief executive [Ivan Gazidis] and we said no straight away."
When asked if the club expected an improved offer this week, the source added: "Possibly yes and, if it's enough, then I expect we'll have to sell."
Last week the Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, claimed the European champions would not break the bank for Fábregas, of whom he said: "It is clear that this year his value is less."
During the 2010 summer transfer window Arsenal released a statement confirming their captain was not for sale. However, so far there has been no official comment from the Premier League club following renewed speculation over Fábregas' future.

Barcelona To Return With Improved £31m Offer For Arsenal Captain Cesc Fabregas - Report

Barcelona are preparing to make an improved offer of £31 million for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Spanish champions have reportedly already had an initial bid of £27m turned down for the midfielder and, although this second bid seemingly still falls well short of the Gunners’ reported valuation of the player, the Catalan club are hopeful of reaching a compromise.

Barca are keen to pay the fairest possible price to get their man, with president Sandro Rosell adamant the club’s outgoings on this summer's transfers will not exceed £40m, but the Telegraph suggests the La Liga champions are willing to stretch to £35m in order to seal the deal.

Arsene Wenger refused to entertain Barcelona’s interest in Fabregas last summer and has always maintained he would not consider selling his captain, but the need to raise funds for summer reinforcements combined with the Spaniard’s desire to link up with his boy-hood club could ultimately persuade the Arsenal boss to cash in on his prized asset.

The chances of any deal going through are believed to be dependent on the Gunners securing a replacement for their playmaker, with Velez Sarsfield’s Ricardo Alvarez reportedly top of the list of targets

Arsenal makes £18m bid for Valencia's Juan Mata

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has made a club record £18m bid for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata, claims the Daily Mail. The paper says that we are now planning a summer spending spree, beginning with the capture of the Spanish Under 21 star.

 

It is reported that officials spoke to the 23-year-old’s agent and father and that Mata is now happy to discuss his future. Mata can play in central midfield or on the left wing and was also part of Spain’s 2010 World Cup winning squad.

Mata's eye for goal and assists are why AW is said to be willing to smash the club’s current transfer record -- £13m for Russian star Andrey Arshavin -- to bring the Spaniard to the Emirates.

Former Real Madrid youth player Mata was one of the stars of Spain’s victorious Under 21 side in Denmark, scoring two goals in the tournament, and has been identified by Wenger as the man to help ease the blow of Cesc Fabregas’ possible departure to Barcelona.
But, the paper says, AW  may have to act fast to head off Barcelona and Manchester City -- who are also vying with Chelsea to sign Udinese and Chile winger Alexis Sanchez  -- and Liverpool.
Many of the Arsenal fans are delighted after hearing this report that their team is chasing this 23year old for a record transfer fee.

Arsenal reject £27m bid from Barcelona for Cesc Fábregas

Arsenal have turned down an offer from Barcelona for their captain, Cesc Fábregas, according to reports last night. The bid is reported by the Sun and Telegraph to be worth £27m and is said to have been rejected out of hand.

The Spanish club had been expected to make a renewed attempt to sign Fábregas, who began his career at Camp Nou, after having offers rejected last summer. It is anticipated that they will return with an improved bid but they have stated that they will not pay more than £35m for the midfielder.
Their president, Sandro Rosell, spelt out the club's position and claimed this week that Fábregas was doing "all he can" to join Pep Guardiola's Spanish and European champions.
"Guardiola knows the values of players and Cesc's is less than €40m (£35.4m)," Rosell said. "Barcelona will offer less and, if they don't accept, then he won't come."

Arsenal should pay £12m for Samba

Arsene Wenger will have to stump up over the odds to take Christopher Samba from Blackburn to Arsenal, it is reported. The Mail claims that Samba's former club Hertha Berlin will get 15 per cent of any fee for his services.

The paper says that Blackburn are reluctant to sell the centre back, 27, but seem certain to insist on at least £12million after agreeing to the clause when they signed him from Hertha for £450,000 in 2007.

The Sun reckons Samba has told Rovers he wants to join Arsenal. Anuradha Desai, the chairperson of Rovers' owners Venkys, admitted Samba ss keen on a move to north London. Desai said: "We don't want to let Chris go. I'm confident that we can keep him and I hope he'll stay. I know he has an ambition to play for Arsenal but I hope we can keep him for another year at least and prove our own ambition."

The Mail also reports that Arsenal remain hopeful of finalising a £12m deal for Lille striker Gervinho this week and are chasing Southampton's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 17. It adds that Arsenal are awaiting a formal bid from Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas. Some reports suggest that Barcelona are considering selling striker David Villa to Chelsea in order to fund the purchase of Fabregas.

Cesc Fábregas worth less this summer, says Barcelona president

Barcelona believe Cesc Fábregas's value has dropped since last summer.

The Barcelona president Sandro Rosell says he believes the Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fábregas is now worth less than he was at this time last summer.

Barcelona were prepared to pay €40m (£36m) in 2010, but Rosell said that if the club goes ahead with a new bid this summer, Arsenal can expect a lower offer.
"If last summer we offered €40m for Cesc, and since then there has been wear and tear, now he's worth less," Rosell said. "In the case that we were interested, our offer would be reasonable. We would not go overboard."

Fábregas said on Wednesday that he has left any decision on his future to Arsenal, admitting his frustration after another trophyless season.

The 24-year-old said: "Barcelona are the best team in the world and going there guarantees titles. Any player who says he is not frustrated at not winning titles is lying. I am ambitious. But I owe myself to Arsenal. I have not spoken to the manager – he is the boss, he takes decisions and I don't know if they want to sell me or not."

Cesc Fabregas Responds And Says He Is Happy At Arsenal

Everyone has been saying that Cesc Fabregas is heading to Barcelona this summer, but the Arsenal captain today threw some cold water on that idea.
Fabregas says he has no intention of leaving Arsenal saying:

“I am an Arsenal player. I won’t step forward and say I want to join Barca. After eight years at Arsenal, I won’t harm the club. That’s not my way of being. I have been very happy for eight years and I am very happy.”

When asked about the latest speculation linking him with a move back to Barca, he added:

“I am not thinking about football right now, just about my holidays. There have been no decisions. The truth is that it doesn’t always depend on the player and at the moment I don’t know anything. Arsene Wenger is the boss, the one who makes the decisions. You should ask him. I was injured at the end of the season and I haven’t seen him for about six weeks. I am very happy where I am. Anything else would be speculation that is untrue.”

So good new for Gunners fan today. What do you think of Fabregas’s comments?