Agent: Toure-Fabregas deal not dead
442 Staff - Thursday 10 June 2010, 16:50
Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure could yet form part of a deal
that sees Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas return to Catalunya, according
to the player's agent.
The Ivory Coast international has been linked with a string of
Premier League clubs, including champions Chelsea and Manchester duo
United and City.
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Spanish champions Barca are widely expected to eventually seal a
deal for the Gunners' skipper Fabregas after the World Cup, with the
midfielder believed to be keen to return to the Nou Camp despite Arsenal's
reluctance to sell.
Toure's representitive, Dimitri Seluk, had previously intimated that
Toure would not be heading to Emirates Stadium this summer, with other
English clubs - believed to be Chelsea and Manchester City - prepared
to offer more money
However, Seluk has since revealed that his client could be involved in a deal involving Fabregas after all.
He told Spanish radio station RAC1: "There's a lot of interest [in Toure]. Arsene Wenger likes him and Arsenal are interested.
"He could come into the Cesc deal and Barca and Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement.
"If the conditions are good, everything can be finished soon."
Seluk added that Roberto Mancini's Manchester City are now unlikely to reunite Yaya with older brother Kolo at Eastlands, taking a swipe at the cash-rich Blues' transfer dealings.
"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then
afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt
one."
Barcelona's valuation of Toure may prove to be a stumbling block for
Arsenal after the Catalan giants slapped a €35 million price-tag on his
head.
Outgoing Barca president Joan Laporta believes it is in Arsenal's
best interest to let Fabregas rejoin his boyhood team and that keeping
him in London against his wishes will do the Gunners more harm than
good.
By Saad Noor
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