Manchester United have submitted a €30 million bid for Spain and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
Reports said the bid was submitted yesterday evening (Sydney time) and thus far there has been no response. If the deal did go through it would represent David Moyes’s first significant signing as United manager.
United were heavily linked with the former Arsenal skipper earlier in the summer, although at the time Fabregas claimed his intention was to remain with Barcelona.
Moyes then turned his attentions to Fabregas’s Barca team-mate Thiago Alcantara.
At one point it seemed as though a deal for the Spain Under-21 star was nearing completion. However, at the 11th hour Pep Guardiola stepped in and Thiago has now agreed to join Bayern Munich.
Fabregas does appear to be in a similar position to Thiago in that his World Cup place could come under threat if he does not play regularly for Barcelona following their €59 million acquisition of Brazilian superstar Neymar.
Barca’s stand
Barca are unlikely to let Fabregas go willingly, having nurtured the player through his formative years, only for Arsenal to sign him as a 16-year-old in 2003.
Fabregas spent eight years with the Gunners, making 303 appearances and ending up as club captain, before returning to the Nou Camp in 2011.
Though he has played 96 times in two seasons, including 60 Primera Liga games, he has rarely featured in his preferred midfield role due to the performances of brilliant duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
His forceful approach in central midfield is just what United are looking for following the retirement of Paul Scholes, continuing doubt over the career of Darren Fletcher and a belief among fans that Anderson will never fulfil the promise that earned him a big money move from FC Porto in 2007.
Meanwhile, Robin van Persie has linked up with United for the Australia leg of their pre-season tour.
Van Persie and David de Gea were excused the weekend defeat to Singha All Stars in Bangkok in order to give them maximum recovery time after their summer international commitments.
But both have now joined Moyes’s squad for an intense week of training in Australia ahead of Saturday’s sell-out clash with an A-League All Stars outfit at ANZ Stadium.
However, Antonio Valencia will not be available as he has been given additional time off.