Jose Mourinho believes Cesc Fabregas to his Chelsea side is a done deal.<\/p>\n
And the Blues even hope to announce the World Cup-bound Spain midfielder’s \u00a327million transfer from Barcelona before the end of the week.<\/p>\n
It will be a massive blow to Arsenal fans to see their former captain go to one of their biggest rivals.<\/p>\n
But Chelsea have struck a deal with Barca – and the Gunners decided not to activate the “first option” clause in the deal that took him from the Emirates to the Nou Camp three years ago.<\/p>\n
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger clearly feels his priorities for this summer are elsewhere – and Mirror Sport understands they have reignited their interest in Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic.<\/p>\n
Wenger is also targeting a defensive midfielder, a right-back and a centre-back – with Cardiff’s England international Steven Caulker an option – and is of the opinion he has enough attacking midfielders.<\/p>\n
That stance cleared the way for Chelsea, who see Fabregas dovetailing well with striker Diego Costa who is set to join them from Atletico Madrid in a \u00a332m deal.<\/p>\n
The west Londoners have beaten off strong competition from Manchester United and interest from Manchester City to get Fabregas.<\/p>\n
It is a major coup to land the midfielder, who is believed to have had negotiations this week ahead of the World Cup and may now be given permission to take a medical.<\/p>\n
Fabregas’ advisers have been anxious to stress Arsenal were not interested in re-signing the 27-year-old to help smooth his path to Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
But his defection to Chelsea will still be a bitter pill for many Gooners to swallow.<\/p>\n
Fabregas, on around \u00a3100,000-a-week at Barcelona, will nearly double his money at Chelsea and is expected to sign on for five years.<\/p>\n
One consolation for Arsenal will be that they get any profit on the \u00a325m deal they did with Barca for the player in 2011.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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