Manchester United will take one last crack at obtaining Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
According to ESPN, "Manchester United hope a third bid amounting to around £40 million will finally be enough to swing the transfer of Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, and break the Catalan club's public resistance to a sale."
The club has already tried offering a £25 million and £30 million bid for the Catalan superstar, but has been constantly met with opposition from the Spanish league champs. The unlikelihood of the deal moving forward even led to rumors that the English champions were interested in buying up Luka Modric from Real Madrid.
United is in dire need of a midfield presence and Fabregas is in need of playing time. The Spaniard was brought to Barcelona to be the heir of Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the midfield. Instead, he has been relegated to forward, a position he is not comfortable with. With the arrival of Neymar, a natural forward, and the continued prominence of Xavi and Iniesta, Fabregas will likely find himself on the bench to start the year. Of course, if Xavi or Iniesta go down with injury, he would be the likely option to replace either of them.
Barcelona officials and teammates have repeatedly stated that Manchester United is wasting its time as the player and club are uninterested in the move.
"United are wasting their time. It took a long time for Cesc to get his dream move back home and he won't give it up. This is home, it is where his family is, and he is playing with his closest friends," said Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. "He has told us he is happy and that he intends to stay with Barcelona."
"I'm not going to involve myself in the club's accounts, but considering the club has already rejected two offers, I would guess it will reject a third. In other words, Fabregas will remain here," added new Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino.