REVEALED: How Wenger could determine if Fabregas moves to United or City

Fabregas

Manchester United could be forced to pay an inflated price for Cesc 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 £70million just to break even.

Furthermore, the Gunners could be offered the chance of re-signing the Spaniard for as little as £20million 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 David 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 Arsene 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.

[UK Mail]

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