Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas has yet to find a defined role since returning to Barcelona in 2011. Reuters

Cesc Fabregas is reported to be considering his future at Barcelona following continued interest from Manchester United. The midfielder has been the subject of two bids from the Premier League champions and a Sky Sports source claims that he is evaluating his position after being given no assurances about being a fixture in the starting lineup next season.

Quite how Fabregas would have been given those assurances when Barcelona only appointed new coach Gerardo Martino on Tuesday is perhaps a relevant question to be asking. It seems likely that the Argentinian will evaluate his squad before any decision is made on Fabregas’s future. What also appears clear is that Fabregas’s camp will have given United some encouragement before they so publicly tabled offers of £25 million and then £30 million for the former Arsenal captain.

Indeed, Barcelona-based sports daily Mundo Deportivo reports that United have now returned with a third bid of €40 million (£34.5m). The publication also claims that, while Fabregas was almost certain to remain at the Camp Nou under former coach Tito Vilanova, it may be a different situation under Martino.

New Manchester United manager David Moyes is determined to bolster his midfield options this summer and there remain reports that he could still make a move to reunite with Everton’s Marouane Fellaini. With that in mind, The Sun has helpfully provided Moyes with a reminder that a clause in the Belgium international’s contract, which allows him to join a club in the Champions League for a reported fee of £23 million, expires in just a week’s time, on July 31. It would seem unlikely that United would make a move at this late stage with Moyes having long been aware of the presence of his release clause. Still, perhaps a failure to land Fabregas will prompt United to make a last gasp move for Fellaini.

Metro believes that Moyes has another option lined up should he miss out on Fabregas in the form of Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan. The Germany international was a key part of his side’s run to the Champions League final last term and has the combination of passing and energy that would fit ideally into United’s midfield. However, the 22-year-old has said that he will be staying where he is for the coming season and it is hard to envisage him being pried away. Real Madrid are also thought to be interested with talk that the Spanish giants are lining up a transfer for next summer.

Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye has also been ventured as an option with the Sunday People even claiming that United had made a £15 million bid for the 27-year-old. But, according to his manager Alan Pardew, the France international has not been the subject of any offers.

“Obviously, he’s a player I want to keep,” Pardew told the Shields Gazette. “He’s a great technical player, and his personality is fantastic. It’s a big season for him. He will be a starter for France at the World Cup. It’s important for him.

“He’s focused very much on us,” he added. “There’s no bid for him as we speak now. Until such time as there is, he is a Newcastle United player. Yohan’s a total, 100 per cent professional.”

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