VALDES BACKS CESC

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who has already revealed that he will leave the club at the end of the season, has expressed his confidence over Cesc Fabregas staying at the camp Nou beyond this transfer window.

The former Arsenal midfielder has been heavily linked with a return to Premier league football with Manchester United, who already have had two bids rejected for him. However, they are prepared to be preparing a third bid, which will increase the offer to £ 40 million. It will be hard to resist for Barcelona, who paid only £ 35 million for him in 2011.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who has already revealed that he will leave the club at the end of the season, has expressed his confidence over Cesc Fabregas staying at the camp Nou beyond this transfer window.

The former Arsenal midfielder has been heavily linked with a return to Premier league football with Manchester United, who already have had two bids rejected for him. However, they are prepared to be preparing a third bid, which will increase the offer to £ 40 million. It will be hard to resist for Barcelona, who paid only £ 35 million for him in 2011.

Barcelona officials have stated on several occasions that they do not intend to sell the 26-year-old at any price, but this offer will certainly be tempting. Valdes has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich once his contract comes to an end. His statements come at a time when a number of other Barcelona players like Alex Song and Javier Mascherano have also been saying that Fabregas will stay at the camp Nou. The 26-year-old is thought to have been extremely frustrated with the first two years at the club during which time he has played second fiddle to the likes of Iniesta and Xavi.

“I’m confident he’ll stay, I have seen him and he’s excited about this new chapter at Barca,” said Valdes. “I didn’t talk to him, but he’s happy. It’s difficult when you have to talk about the personal situation of other players because sometimes you don’t know what they really think, but I could see him here training and he’s happy. He grew up in Barcelona and he feels the colours of the shirt. It’s difficult when you grew up here to leave because Barcelona is a big team and a big city, where it’s really nice to live and his family is here,” said Mascherano.