Arsenal could finally be prepared to let Cesc Fabregas leave this summer and return to boyhood club Barcelona.
The Gunners skipper has made no secret of his desire to return to his homeland and to the club where he spent several years as a youth team player.
Arsenal’s season has tailed off badly since their Carling Cup final defeat in February while the captain’s own form has been well below his best for much of a campaign blighted by injury
Barcelona have courted Fabregas for the last two summer transfer windows and twice had bids of near £30million turned down in 2010.
Star players Xavi and Carles Puyol also embarked on an embarrassing recruitment process during the World Cup and it needed Arsene Wenger’s best persuasive techniques to convince the man around whom his team is built to stay at the club.
However, the 23-year-old has once again seen dreams of silverware evaporate as the lesser quality players around him cost Arsenal in big games.
Now, with the team in desperate need of investment to avoid going a seventh season without a trophy, The Sun report that Fabregas could be allowed to leave for £35m, turning a profit of £34.5m.
Despite having three more years to run on his current deal, Fabregas couldl force the move through and has already voiced his concerns about the direction of the club in a recent interview with Spanish radio.
The newspapers quotes a club insider, who said: ‘There is a feeling Cesc has gone as far as he can with Arsenal. He has been with us eight years and believes he has shown great loyalty.
‘The club will finish the season empty-handed again and he fears that situation will not change.’
The captain’s own future could also be linked to that of Frenchman Samir Nasri, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Nasri flourished in France as an attacking midfielder, and enjoyed his best spell in England operating in the position currently occupied by Fabregas. It is believed he has become frustrated with playing out wide and could be tempted by a switch to Serie A if the Spaniard remains in north London.