admin“really wants” to transfer, according to Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.
“I don’t know if we will sign Cesc or not. What I have no doubt of is that he really wants to come to Barca,” Rosell told Catalan television TV3 in an interview late on Monday.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola knows that every player has a value “and that Cesc is worth less than 40 million. We will offer less than 40 million and if Arsenal don’t accept it, Cesc won’t come,” Rosell said.
“This year we won’t offer the same as last year because a year has gone by and Cesc today is not worth 40 million.”
Gunners coach Arsene Wenger had insisted last month that he was determined to spend a second successive summer fighting off mighty Barcelona to keep Fabregas at the Emirates.
But Spanish media say he has since decided not to fight the move.
The Gunners turned down a bid from the Spanish champions last year for a player who spent his junior days at Barcelona before joining Arsenal at the age of 16 in 2003.
“I am a Barca supporter. I am a member like my grandfather, my uncle, my cousin,” Fabregas said last year.
“I love their colours since I was very small. I am Catalan. However, I am captain of Arsenal, I am a Gunner and it is there that I have become a player and that I have matured as a person.”
Rosell, who took over as president from Joan Laporta in July 2010, also said “nothing was closed” regarding the transfer of Chilean international forward Alexis Sanchez from Italian side Udinese.
Spanish sports media have said the 22-year-old, who is under contract with Udinese until June 2014, is close to joining the European champions.
“We don’t have money for signings. When we arrived we saw that the club’s debt was much higher than what was being stated,”the Barcelona president added when asked about the possibility of signing either Sanchez or Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi from Villarreal.
“Only one of the two will come,” he said said.
Rosell said cost-cutting measures put in place since he became president “were necessary for the sustainability of the club”
Banning colour photocopies alone “saves us 300 000 euros”, he said.
Shortly after Rosell’s arrival, Barcelona secured a 150 million euro bank loan to help pay player and staff wages.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Gael Clichy is a £7million target for Italian soccer giants Roma – with supremo Walter Sabatini heading to London for talks.
France left-back Clichy may be sold because he has yet to extend his contract.
Sabatini hopes to knock the Gunners down from their current £10 million asking price.
Sabatini is under orders to land Clichy from new boss Luis Enrique and he hopes Arsenal will take their offer, find a compromise figure or take a player in exchange.
Clichy’s deal expires next summer, so Arsenal have to listen to decent offers for him and Sabatini’s visit points to a possible deal as the Italian looks to do lotsof business on a whirlwind visit.
Roma are willing to trade striker Mirko Vucinic who is wanted by Juventus, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham. Sabatini is trying to get as much money as possible for him and may speak to both Spurs and Rovers on his visit.
Montenegro international Vucinic has been cleared to move if he can find a buyer at the right price – with Roma looking for a staggering £18 million.
Arsenal will be offered Vucinic too, but Wenger and the Gunners negotiators would prefer straight cash if they decide to part with Clichy.
Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are ready to join the race for Bolton’s £17million England centre-back Gary Cahill.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is a long-time admirer of the former Aston Villa ace and enquired about him back in January.
But he faces competition for the 25-year-old’s signature from Arsenal and mega-rich Manchester City.
Bolton chief Owen Coyle wants players in part-exchange for Cahill as a straight cash deal would end up going to help reduce their £90m debt.
Cahill can leave the Reebok if any club meets a £17m release clause.
Coyle said: “People have to make sure they come up with the right offer.
“He won’t be going on the cheap, that’s for sure.
“Gary could play for anyone and looking at a few of the deals that are going on right now, it surprises me there hasn’t been a concrete offer.”
Redknapp could throw defender Sebastien Bassong into any deal, while another option is for Danny Rose to be offered on a year’s loan.
Spurs could also end up scrapping it out with rivals Arsenal for Blackburn’s Chris Samba.
Still in England, Ghana international striker Asamoah Gyan has dismissed speculation linking him with a move away from Sunderland this summer.
The 25-year-old has been linked with moves to Stoke and Tottenham in recent weeks.
But Gyan insisted yesterday he has no intention of leaving in the foreseeable future.
He told MTNFootball: “I am not leaving Sunderland and I am not interested in these rumours in the newspapers and on the internet.
“I am fully committed to Sunderland because I love the institution and traditions of this club.
“I am staying at Sunderland next season and for the foreseeable future and I am looking forward to meeting my team-mates and Sunderland fans when we return next month.”
Gyan joined Sunderland in a £13million-plus move from Rennes last summer and scored 11 goals in his first campaign on Wearside.
Manager Steve Bruce bought him to partner Darren Bent in attack, although his plans had to be ripped up when the England international left for Aston Villa in January.
In another development, Adel Taarabt claims both Chelsea and Arsenal have been in contact over a potential summer transfer – but admits staying at Queen’s Park Rangers in the Premier League next season would not be a bad move either.
Having played an integral part in helping the west London club return to the top flight for the first time in 15 years, the Moroccan midfielder has been linked with a switch away from Loftus Road. – AFP.
Online Reporter