Source: Team_Talk
Busquets: Fabregas deal in the balance
arcelona star Sergio Busquets admits the Spaniards may be fighting a losing battle to lure Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas back to the Nou Camp.[LNB] Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has now returned to work at the Barclays Premier League club's Hertfordshire training base after his stint as a pundit for French television at the World Cup, running the rule over new signings Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny.[LNB]While he was away, Wenger was dogged by continued speculation linking the Arsenal skipper with a return to his boyhood club.[LNB]Although Fabregas made it clear to Wenger before departing to South Africa his heart was set on a transfer, Arsenal have no intention of selling their star man, rebuffing one £30million bid for a player with five years left of a lucrative deal still to run.[LNB]Both Barcelona's new president Sandro Rosell and a string of players, many of whom are international team-mates of the World Cup winner, have voiced their desire for Fabregas - embarrassingly forced into a Barcelona shirt during Spain's victory celebrations in Madrid - to complete a move 'home'.[LNB]However, Arsenal look set to stand firm in their determination to retain Fabregas' services for at least one more season, while the player himself, who has been given some extra time off, remains coy about his intentions.[LNB]Barcelona may have been forced to take out a 155m Euro (£129m) loan to ease their financial problems, but Rosell claims there is still money to spend despite the big-money purchase of David Villa given both defender Dmitro Chygrynskiy and Yaya Toure, who joined Manchester City, have been sold.[LNB]However, whether or not the Spaniards can match the £60m figure which would probably be needed for Arsenal to even ponder contemplating Fabregas' sale, remains to be seen.[LNB]Busquets, who played alongside Fabregas for Spain at the World Cup, feels Barcelona may, for now at least, have to accept Fabregas is going nowhere.[LNB]"Cesc is a great player that would add a lot to the team," he said, "but we have to respect that he is owned by another club that is not Barcelona, that he is an Arsenal player and, for the time being, there's nothing to be done."[LNB]Wenger, meanwhile, could give Arsenal fans their first sight of Chamakh and Koscielny in action at Underhill this weekend, where the likes of Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin could also all feature having not been involved in the World Cup.[LNB]Arsenal head out for a training camp in Austria next week, when the rest of the squad will join up, apart from Fabregas and striker Robin van Persie, a beaten finalist with Holland in Johannesburg.[LNB]By the time his squad returns ahead of the Emirates Cup, Wenger could well have secured a couple of more additions.[LNB]It remains to be seen whether a serious move will be made for free agent Joe Cole, but Arsenal are expected to add at least one more defensive player, with Udinese centre-half Cristian Zapata said to be top of Wenger's shopping list while veteran Sol Campbell could yet sign on for another season.[LNB]Arsenal continue to be linked with a new goalkeeper, as doubts remain over the future of Manuel Almunia.[LNB]Fulham want around £4m for Australian stopper Mark Schwarzer, while Wenger is reported to also be keen on Shay Given or Joe Hart should either be deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester City.[LNB]Croatia striker Eduardo, meanwhile, has been linked with a switch to Valencia after slipping further down the pecking order following Chamakh's arrival.
