adminbring him back to the English Premier League.
According to reports in Spain, Fabregas has been given the weekend to decide on what he wants to do after telling Barca officials that he has grown deeply frustrated with life at the club.
Fabregas returned to Catalonia in 2011 having left for Arsenal as a 16-year-old, before going on to become one of the best players in world football.
The return to Barcelona was supposed to be the start of Fabregas establishing himself at his boyhood club, but he has instead been made to play second fiddle to the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Sergi Busquets and Javier Mascherano.
Fabregas is now willing to consider moving away — and United have made the first move in speaking to Barcelona about a transfer.
They want to know how much the pass-master will cost, with David Moyes keen to add a quality central midfielder to his ranks this summer.
Arsenal are also hovering, and they are boosted by the knowledge that they have the first option to sign the player.
A decision on whether Fabregas is made available for transfer is expected next week.
Fabregas will decide his Barcelona future next week — and still dreams of a return to Arsenal.
Former Gunners captain Fabregas will meet with Barca coach Tito Vilanova once the Spanish season ends this weekend to discuss whether the Spain international should stay at the Nou Camp for what will be a World Cup year.
The Nou Camp giants do not want to sell, but Fabregas has grown frustrated because even though he has done well in domestic competition but is often overlooked for the big European games.
Incoming Manchester United boss David Moyes is a big admirer of the 26-year-old midfielder and would like to lure him to Old Trafford.
Manchester City and Chelsea are also watching developments.
But Arsenal hold the trump card as they wrote a “first refusal” clause into Fabregas’ Barcelona deal, which was worth around £40m in total.
Two years on, the north Londoners would be able to buy Fabregas back for between £20m and £25m.
If Barcelona receive any offer for the player, the terms of the buy-back are that they must inform Arsenal to give them first option.
Fabregas has reservations about going to another English club, especially after seeing pal Robin van Persie become public enemy No.1 when he gave up the Arsenal captaincy for a move to Manchester United.
The Spaniard has claimed he would love to rejoin the Londoners, his club from the age of 16, one day and the uncertainty about his future at Barcelona has suddenly raised the prospect.
Until recently, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had been reluctant to go back to players he’s worked with before, but he has since re-signed ex-Gunners Sol Campbell, Thierry Henry and Jens Lehmann.
An Emirates “home-coming” still seems a long way off with Fabregas and Barcelona undecided about what happens next, but United’s interest may force the issue.
Manchester United could be forced to pay an inflated price for Fabregas, with Barcelona obliged to give Arsenal half the fee under the terms of his transfer to the Nou Camp. It means Barcelona would have to sell him for about £70 million just to break even.
Furthermore, the Gunners could be offered the chance of re-signing the Spaniard for as little as £20 million should United formalise their interest.
United are keen on signing the Spain midfielder, but Arsenal will play a key role in determining whether new manager Moyes can land the midfielder.
When Fabregas returned to Catalan in 2011, the Gunners struck a deal that would see them net 50 per cent of his next transfer fee.
The clause means Barcelona chiefs are only likely to consider an astronomical offer for Fabregas given they have to give half of the fee to Arsenal.
In addition, the Gunners also insisted on having a first-option clause inserted into the contract, And Sportsmail understands Arsenal insisted on having a fixed price on the buy-back clause, believed to be between £20m-£25m.
Should any club make a concrete offer for the 26-year-old, Barca would be obliged to inform Arsenal, who would then be given first-refusal on the midfielder.
If the scenario arises, then manager Wenger would be left with a difficult situation on his hands.
While a new central midfielder is on the club’s shopping list, Wenger is looking for a more defensive-minded player.
And with Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla all vying for central midfield slots, Wenger may view the signing of another creative player as unnecessary, leaving him with the dilemma of turning Fabregas down.
Nevertheless, both clauses will provide major stumbling blocks towards United’s quest to land Fabregas, who is also interesting Manchester City.
The former Gunner will resolve his future with Barca officials once the Spanish season is over.
The Catalan club want to keep hold of Fabregas, but the midfielder has grown frustrated of late as he has been overlooked for big games.
And should the midfielder decide he wants to move on, an emotional return to north London may not be beyond the realms of possibility.
Arsenal do have serious cash to spend this summer, and a midfielder is on their agenda — as are all other areas of the team.
Wenger wants a keeper too, with QPR’s Julio Cesar, Asmir Begovic of Stoke and Sunderland No.1 Simon Mignolet among those on his radar.
They are also watching developments on Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain and remain in for Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic — although Juventus are also keen on him — as they look for a stellar-name striker.
And to complete the set, they fancy Swansea and Wales centre-back Ashley Williams. — Metro-Mailonline.
Online Reporter