Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola still seeking Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas at Nou Camp
Barcelona’s coach Pep Guardiola has revealed that he and the Catalans have not yet given all hope up for the signing of Cesc Fabregas. He informed that the club has been looking forward to sign their long lost player for a long time but it was the beginning of this summer that saw them stepping up their chase and wanting him to return back home.
Fabregas is ready to have the welcome of “return of the heroic son” at Nou Camp but he is facing bitter opposition from his club which has forced him to rethink his decision and become partially neutral hoping that the signing will take place next season.
In the beginning of the season Barcelona came up to their former player and offered him a return to the Spanish Giants. At the age of 16, Fabregas had left Barcelona as being young and less experienced he was constantly overshadowed by the then evolving and maturing stars Xavi and Iniesta. Fabregas realized that Barca was not the place for him to be and he made a switch to Arsenal where he was bred up by Arsene Wenger.
Arsene Wenger joined the club in 1996 and since then has had a major hand in the club’s victories. Fabregas arrived at the Gunners at the time when they were racing towards their peak followed by the time in which they achieved an undefeated season followed by the title of “the Invincibles”. He matured and developed into a better player at the club alongside learning with the brilliants on field like Thierry Henry.
He continued to show his success and was soon considered among the best midfielders. Fabregas’ deep insight in the midfield along with his accurate passing and acute crosses are some of the reasons why he is considered amongst the best. In the coming season he was soon appointed as the captain and further on became the number one choice for the job.
This is another reason the North Londoners are not willing to lose their player. Before the World Cup the arguments between the Wenger, Fabregas and Barcelona reached a critical point. Wenger and Fabregas at that point had a thorough conversation and it was decided that a decision will be taken after the World Cup.
After the World Cup the situation took a new turn but for the worse when Fabregas stated that he would be leaving North London for Spain in any case and the Barcelona team members had already endorsed the player. Xavi had gone as far as saying that the Fabregas is just playing on loan at Arsenal and will be expecting him to join soon.
Wenger has time and again announced that the Fabregas will not be leaving for Barca and in the issue could only be held up for negotiations if there was a 60 million pound offer on table to initiate talks. Barcelona on the other hand are not willing to pay even half of that.
Fans from Barca as well as players like Pique, Alves, Iniesta, Messi and Valdes have all expressed that they are eager for Fabregas’ arrival and to play with him. Officials from the Barcelona club have stated, “The transfer window closes at the end of the month. We’ll see what options there are to strengthen our midfield. I’m not ruling out that Cesc will, or will not, join us. The market has stalled. If there’s anything to be done, we’ll do it, but if not we’ll use the players from the lower squads because they give us sufficient guarantees”.
Guardiola is planning Fabregas’ arrival at the club as he wants the Spanish prodigy to be at his top form before their other midfielder Xavi announces his retirement. The club has already waved off players like Rafael Marquez, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Yaya Toure and Thierry Henry and they have been looking for replacements.
Guardiola mentioned, “There are real possibilities of completing the team with home grown players. We lost Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Rafael Marquez at the back, but we have cover in depth. The centre-backs I have are enough”.
The 39 year old manager continued, “Some of them I already know well and I’ve got good references on the others. Whether or not they play doesn’t depend on me – it depends on them. I can give them a chance but if they don’t respond at the right level then they don’t continue. I’m very, very happy with the standard. I’ve got a very good feeling about them”.
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