Arsenal prepared to sell Fabregas if the price is right
ARSENAL captain Cesc Fabregas will join Barcelona this summer if the two clubs can finally agree a fee, according to a senior club source.
The north London club have fought off numerous advances from the European champions for the services of their star man in the past but their resolve finally appears to have been broken.
Barca had two bids – the largest of which totalled £40m – rejected last summer with Arsenal adamant that the 24-year-old would stay at Emirates Stadium and honour the contract which runs until 2015.
But after another promising but ultimately fruitless season, Fabregas appears intent on returning to his boyhood club and Arsenal are willing to grant his wish.
The Catalan giants saw a bid of £27m turned down earlier this month, but a senior Arsenal club source was yesterday quoted saying: “Possibly yes [we expect a bigger offer], and if it’s enough then I expect we’ll have to sell.”
Arsenal will attempt to cushion the blow of losing their talisman by completing the signings of Lille’s Ivory Coast forward Gervinho and Bolton’s England centre-half Gary Cahill this week.
Lille chairman Michel Seydoux, who is hoping Arsenal will up their offer to around £12m, admitted Gervinho has set his heart on securing a move to Arsenal this summer.
Cahill, meanwhile, who is also attracting interest from Manchester City and Liverpool, has a £17m release clause in his contract which the Gunners are willing to trigger in a bid to bolster their defence with the physical and authoritative presence it has sorely lacked in recent seasons.