By Fab4.
Barcelona’s attempts to sign Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas have been hit by the news potential make-weight Yaya Toure is reluctant to be included in any deal as he feels there are better options available to him.
Having just splashed out £34m to sign David Villa, Barca were keen to reduce the amount of cash required to sign Fabregas by included a player in the deal. Along with Toure, strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bojan or defenders Rafael Marquez and Dmytro Chgrynskiy have been touted as potential swap-fodder but it’s Toure that Arsene Wenger is most keen to bring to North London.
But the Ivorian’s agent Dimitri Selcuk has claimed Toure will not be replacing Fabregas as there are several ‘big clubs’ interested in him.
Toure is not going to replace Cesc. He will not play for Arsenal.’There are very big clubs who are interested and we like these options more.’
With Toure seemingly ruling himself out of a move to the Emirates, Wenger has apparently set his sights on Brazil’s defensive midfielder Felipe Melo, who has endured a difficult first season at Juventus after moving to Turin from Fiorentina last summer. A £15m bid has been lined up for the 26-year-old and Wenger will step up his interest should Fabregas depart for Barcelona.
Melo is preparing for the World Cup with his Brazilian team-mates, and has admitted his first season with Juve was far from ideal and is aware of Arsenal’s interest but is not looking for a move just yet.
“Juventus’ season was negative and didn’t go as well as expected, but my performances were good,” Melo told tuttojuve.com.
“I have heard about the interest of Arsenal, once again, but there is nothing concrete.
“The only certainty is that I still have a four-year contract with Juventus and Juventus fans have a great affection for me, so I want to win a title for them.”
Both Toure and Melo have been linked with moves to Arsenal in the past but it seems neither is likely to be coming to the Emirates this summer. Which is unfortunate as either would make great additions to the squad. Only time will tell what Wenger’s next move will be, but priority number one will be to sort out Fabregas’s future asap.
Would Arsenal fans like to see either Toure or Melo at Arsenal? Please leave your comments below…
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