By Nick Lander
Cesc Fabregas' Barcelona future has become the subject of intense speculation over the past few days, with new Manchester United boss David Moyes said to have made him one of his top priorities.
Any possible move from Barcelona for the former Gunners captain is made significantly more complicated by the terms of his move to the Camp Nou in August 2011. It is understood that Arsenal inserted clauses in the deal to have first option were he to move on from Barcelona and also a sell-on clause of 50%.
As a part of the first option, or buy-back, clause, it is understood that Arsenal agreed a fee of between £20-25m to buy him back. Combined with the 50% sell-on fee this means that it would be difficult for Barcelona to sell Fabregas to anyone other than the Gunners. Having paid somewhere in the region of £35m to secure his signature two years ago, Barca must sell to the likes of Manchester United at £70m to even be able to break even, let alone make any sort of profit.
Since the 26-year-old left, Arsenal have signed midfielders Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla, which could have an impact on Arsenal's desire to sign the Spaniard. However, it was heavily rumoured that Wenger made a £30m move for Borussia Dortmund's (or should that be Bayern Munich's) Mario Gรถtze back in January, so the club's desire to sign another midfielder (of an attacking mindset) is evident, despite those already at the club.
It has been reported by some reliable sources on Twitter have said that Arsene Wenger and his staff are working on a deal to bring Fabregas back to Arsenal. Because of the player already at the club and because of the clauses in place, any deal is likely to be highly complex and will take time to complete.
It has been reported by some reliable sources on Twitter have said that Arsene Wenger and his staff are working on a deal to bring Fabregas back to Arsenal. Because of the player already at the club and because of the clauses in place, any deal is likely to be highly complex and will take time to complete.
The Catalan club are also believe to still owe Arsenal £10m for the transfer of Alex Song last summer. This could mean that Arsenal would be able to resign their former talisman for less than £15m over the summer, and were he to re-join, Fabregas would surely remain with the Gunners for the rest of his career.
He is due to hold talks with Barcelona officials next couple of weeks with regards to his future, following the conclusion of the Spanish league season.
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