Manchester United look to land former Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas

The Premier League this summer could witness a stunning return by former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, not as speculated to Arsenal, but to Manchester United instead.

United have made a bid to sign the 26 year old from Barcelona, indicates a report by The Evening Standard.

The deal is meant to signify the clear intent of Manchester United post the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson this season.

Bringing the Spanish midfielder to Old Trafford would be a huge bonus to begin the Moyes era, while it is also reported by the paper that United are keen on signing back former star Cristiano Ronaldo.

It is reported that a contact regarding the Fabregas deal has been made by United to Barcelona, who landed the Spanish midfielder for £35m just over 2 years ago. If a deal happens, the Catalans will be looking at atleast £20m for Fabregas.

The 26 year old has failed to establish himself in the Barca starting XI, and has been criticized by fans for a string of poor performances this season.

After their humiliating 7-0 aggregate loss to German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals, Barcelona are keen to make changes to their squad, and are potentially ready to listen to offers.

A return to the Premier League will be appreciated by the Spanish midfielder, who made a name for himself with his 8 year stint at Arsenal.

It has been reported that Arsenal inserted a clause when they sold Fabregas to Barcelona to ensure that they had first option on buying him back, while Arsene Wenger said last January that he believed the player would return to Emirates one day.

“I’m not convinced that he will not one day come back here because he is a real Arsenal man,” added the Gunners boss. “He loves Arsenal, he watches every Arsenal game.”

With the retirement of Paul Scholes , the anticipated sale of Anderson and the uncertain future of Fletcher due to on-going health issues, United will look to bolster their midfield in a bid to retain the Premier League title and to compete in the Champions League under new manager David Moyes.

Carrick, who turns 32 this July, has been United’s main play-maker. Landing Fabregas at Old Trafford will definitely stun Arsenal, who are themselves looking to spend big this summer.

It however remains to be seen if Arsenal will try to exercise their option on Fabregas and use up a lot of their budget on just one player.

Fabregas himself admitted post Barcelona’s victory last night that he hadn’t been at his best since joining them.

“I have to improve, I need to be self-critical once the season ends but I’m young and I can do it,” he said.

United, who beat Swansea 2-1 to give former boss Sir Alex Ferguson a perfect send off, are also confident of landing former player Cristiano Ronaldo, who has two years left on his Madrid contract and has abstained from signing any extensions.

The Portuguese midfielder has been in red hot form for Real, and has scored 200 goals for them since joining from United for £80m in 2009, but is unsettled at the Bernabeu. He played a major role in Ferguson’s side claiming nine major honours during his six years there, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008.

United are willing to listen to offers for Wayne Rooney despite Ferguson’s claim that the England international is not for sale. Ferguson, after leaving Rooney out of his squad against Swansea last week, later told the media that the striker had handed a transfer request.

Manchester United are against the idea of selling him to rivals City, and a move to Paris St German seems likely.

Source: The Independent