Time For Ferguson To Go All Out For Fabregas?

Judas kiss- Would the Arsenal skipper really come to United?

After all Arsenal are not exactly strapped for cash- in fact they’re arguably the most financially stable club in England-I know Chelsea and City have more money but that’s due to one rich benefactor rather than a well run ship.

Then there’s also the idea that Fabregas would leave Arsenal for another English club and risk the ire of all the Gooners who worship him. Plus there’s the Wenger factor to consider, would the Arsenal manager actually sell his best player to the club he’s trying to wrangle the league title from?

Finally- as if all those factors weren’t enough- there’s Barcelona to contend with, Fabregas’s boyhood club who’ve made no secret of the fact they want the Spanish international to return to Camp Nou- an idea the Arsenal skipper seems less than repulsed by.

Well alllow me to address each point-albiet somewhat simplisticly and give credence to my seemingly ludicrous suggestion.

First of all and arguably most importantly Arsenal don’t really need any money, in fact the term seems to have become a four letter with Arsene Wenger who seems about as keen to empty the Emirates coffers as he is to have dinner with Alan Pardew.

The fact is though if Fabregas wants to leave and admittedly thats a big ‘if’ then some form of transfer fee could be considered sufficient to sell him and bring in several new players.

The Sun reports that Arsenal have slapped a £54 million price tag on Fabregas- seemingly to put Barcelona- who I’ll get to shortly- off signing their skipper.

I’m not saying Sir Alex should spend £54 million on any player but if he were to bid say £40 million then that may be enough to at least make Arsenal consider his offer.

The only way Arsenal would consider selling is if Fabregas stated his desire to leave. In the past Wenger has been fairly unobstructive of any players wishing to leave the club.

Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, Alexandr Hleb, Matthieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, have all been expeditiously sold once they’ve made their feelings clear as Wenger is not one to keep a player against his will.

Would Fabregas really want to leave the Emirates for Old Trafford? It seems doubtful after all he’s always maintained his desire to go back to Barcelona, but if the Catalan giants don’t put a firm offer on the table, one that is near Arsenal’s estimation then he may not have much of a choice.

I’ve always been a little sceptical of just how keen Barcelona are to buy Fabregas after all he’d surely only be a substitute as he often is in the Spanish side.

Xavi and Andres Iniesta aren’t going to be dropped from the side, nor would the more defensively minded Sergio Busquets so that leaves the question “where would Fabregas fit in?” Well, he’d arguably be a long term replacement for Xavi who’s 31 years-old. The problem is would Pep Guardiola or Andoni Zubizarreta really want to spend a large sum on a player who could be surplus to requirements for another two maybe even three seasons.

In the past I’ve compared Xavi to Paul Scholes and you only have to see that even at age 33/34/35 the Ginger Prince was very much a member of United’s first team to realise that those types of players can be effective in their mid-thirties.

There’s every reason to think that Xavi could be an integral part of Barca’s first team for another few seasons- I’m quite sure the Nou Camp bosses will be hoping so.

If Fabregas either realises that at the moment he won’t be bothering the Barcelona first team -at least not in the important games, or Barca decide they don’t need him -at least not yet- then the Arsenal skipper may look elsewhere.

Why United? Well four titles in five years, three Champions League finals out of four plus a ready made spot in the first team crying out to be filled may be enough to tempt him. Fabregas’ may have an ego big enough to believe that had United been able to use his services in the past three years then one of those finals may have resulted in a win. Fabregas has won nothing in the same amount of time that United have won more Premier League titles and Champions Leagues than Arsene Wenger has ever won. If he was going to wait a few more years before joining Barca then there are worse places to tread water than at the home of the record breaking league title winners.

The Arsenal fans would obviously be livid if Fabregas left for United, but as Sol Campbell proved when he made the short trip across North London, abuse from your old fans can be forgotten if you’re successful.

Should United’s bid be considered then there’s no doubt City would offer more money or at least match it, but as Dimitar Berbatov proved, if a player would rather come to Old Trafford and the money’s sufficient then it needn’t matter.

That still leaves the small matter of do United really need to spend £40 or even £45 million on a player like Fabregas? Well I’d argue if we really want to finally gain the upper hand over Barcelona and reating the league title then we do. Wesley Sneijder is a world class player don’t get me wrong, but unlike Fabregas he hasn’t been tested in the Premier League and although that may seem unimportant when it comes to a midfielder of ability the same was thought of Juan Veron several years ago. Fabregas just has the edge over Sneijder in my opinion and would slot into the side a lot easier as he is a more central midfielder rather than a player who likes to play further up the pitch.

Sneijder may be available for £30-35 million but I’d argue that by spending the extra £10 million it could be the difference between winning the league or Champions League next season or finishing runners-up.

I realise there’s a lot of conjecture when it comes to the chances of United pulling off the biggest transfer coup since we signed Andy Cole from Newcastle, but as Sir Alex Ferguson has proved in the past, sometimes the impossible can happen.

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