[ 2011-06-28 ]

Cesc Fabregas has been linked with a return to Barca for several seasons

Arsenal willing to sell Fabregas
Arsenal are prepared to sell Cesc Fabregas to
Barcelona if the two clubs can agree a fee, BBC
Sport has learned.

The Premier League club have rejected an initial
bid but are now bracing themselves for an improved
offer.

A senior Arsenal official said: "The offer was
made formally in writing to our chief executive
(Ivan Gazidis), and we said no straight away."

Asked if the club expected another bid, the source
said: "Possibly. If it's enough I expect we'll
have to sell."

Arsenal's stance appears to have shifted since
last season when they rejected two offers from
Barcelona for Fabregas, a former trainee at the
Nou Camp, and stated they had no intention of
selling him at any price.

Since then, American billionaire Stan Kroenke has
taken control of the London club and now faces the
first major decision of his reign.

Barcelona's president Sandro Rosell said last week
that Fabregas was trying to pave the way for a
return to the club he left as a 16-year-old, but
that the heavily indebted Spanish giants would not
pay more than £35m for him.

Barcelona's latest bid is reported to be around
£27m, well short of Arsenal's valuation of more
than £40m.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may still object to
any sale, and Kroenke will rely on his manager's
guidance when making a decision.

But Arsenal's board, consisting of Kroenke,
Gazidis, chairman Peter Hill-Wood and directors
Ken Friar, Sir Chips Keswick and Lord Harris of
Peckham are aware of the difficulties of keeping
the 24-year-old against his will.

His recent injury problems, combined with the
emergence of Jack Wilshere, and the likely arrival
of Argentinian Ricardo Alvarez, may also have
influenced their thinking.

Fabregas is in Barcelona this week on a holiday,
and his former club would like to complete a deal
before he has to return to pre-season training in
London next Tuesday ahead of a tour to the Far
East.

Sources in Spain say that Barcelona have already
begun talks with one of Europe's leading sports
agencies over maximising the commercial
opportunities of Fabregas' potential homecoming,
suggesting a degree of confidence the deal can be
finalised.

Meanwhile, former director Lady Bracewell-Smith,
who made millions of pounds selling her 15.9%
stake in the club to Kroenke this year, enabling
him to take control of Arsenal, appeared to
criticise the American's leadership.

She tweeted: "In time we will need a more dynamic
pro-active younger board, and a good directional
leadership. I agree that current board should all
go. They are passe. Have nothing more to give to
the club at all."

And on Fabregas she said: "It is obvious he wants
to go. You cannot keep a player when his heart is
not in it."

Lady Bracewell-Smith also rejected calls from some
fans for the return of former vice-chairman David
Dein, who was sacked in 2007. She wrote: "No Dein.
Root cause of all the troubles at AFC. Unable to
work with other board members."

Dein declined to respond to the comments when
contacted by BBC Sport.

Source - BBC

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