Barcelona’s hopes that their pursuit of Cesc Fàbregas may end successfully this summer have been raised following quotes that were attributed on Monday to a senior Arsenal official.
The source reportedly told the BBC that he expected the club would be forced to sell Fàbregas if a second offer arrived in the coming days that was considered sufficient. “If it’s enough I expect we’ll have to sell,” said the official.
At one level, the comment amounts to a statement of the obvious, as just about any player would be sold from any club in the world if the price was deemed to be high enough. Yet it hints at a subtle change in Arsenal’s stance, and according to sources in Spain Barcelona quickly became aware of the comments. Arsenal immediately rejected Barcelona’s opening offer of £27 million last week but have not made any public comment about their captain.
Last summer, Arsenal issued a public statement at the beginning of June to make it clear they would not countenance any sale.
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is understood to be relaxed about the situation and there is a sense that the club’s position has always been that Fabregas will stay unless an acceptable offer comes in.
At what price that line might be drawn is debatable. Last summer, club sources were talking about Fabregas as a player in at least the £45-50 million bracket. The fact that Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll were sold in January for £50 million and £35 million respectively would appear to support that view.
However, Arsenal must also consider his recent injury record and the impact of having a captain who would rather be at Barcelona. While the onus is now on Barcelona to make the next move over Fabregas, Arsenal are working on their own transfer targets. They are interested in Juan Mata, although a fee has yet to be agreed with Valencia. Wenger’s budget for fees and new players’ wages is around £40 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment