Top target: Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has
been constantly linked with a return to Barcelona
Cesc Fabregas has refused to answer questions about his
future amid renewed Spanish press reports that Barcelona intend to
sign him at the end of the season.
Leading sports paper El Mundo
Deportivo says the
Arsenal captain and
Manchester City star Robinho are Barca's top two targets
for 2010, building on reports in the Catalan press on Tuesday that
the club were increasingly confident of capturing Fabregas.
The 22-year-old midfielder batted away questions from
journalists in Madrid, where he has joined his national team ahead
of Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Armenia and next Wednesday's
tie in Bosnia.
Uncertain future: Robinho
After scoring and kissing his badge during Arsenal's 6-2
victory over Blackburn at the weekend, Fabregas insisted his
commitment to Arsene Wenger's team should not be
questioned.
And he would not be tricked into saying anything embarrassing at
Madrid's Ciudad Deportiva de Las Rozas training ground, no matter
how many times or ways the reporters asked.
'Now I can't even talk about Barca,' he said. 'We are in the
middle of the season, I have a contract with Arsenal and I must
complete that for my current team.
'Everything just started and I think only about the best for
Arsenal. When the time comes we'll talk about the future.'
El Mundo Deportivo says
an agreement has been reached with Fabregas's agent and a transfer
next summer is only subject to a fee being agreed with Arsenal.
The murmurs in Spain are that Arsene Wenger could not block the
path of his star's return to Barcelona, where he trained as a
youth, if Arsenal again finish the season without a trophy.
Barca president Joan Laporta, who cannot stand for re-election
in the summer, is apparently keen to tie up the deal before the end
of the tenure, so that it does not become an election issue.
The businessman knows that Sandro Rossell, his former
deputy who quit after a disagreement, will claim to be best placed
to capture Fabregas in the summer, but Laporta would prefer a
successor from within the club.
The re-emergance of Robinho as a target comes at a time when the
Brazilian's future at Eastlands has been brought into question.
City boss Mark Hughes deployed Craig Bellamy on the left against
West Ham United on Monday night and sees the Wales international as
a key player among his many strikers.
Barca made enquiries about adding 25-year-old Robinho to Pep
Guardiola's squad towards the end of the summer transfer window. A
frantic search for a left-sided player that went unresolved.
