Red Devils believe the Spaniard does now want to move to Old Trafford this summer after all.
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Manchester United hope to have made significant progress in their efforts to sign FC Barcelona midfield player Cesc Fabregas within the next 48 hours, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
The Red Devils have lodged a bid of £26 million with the Liga champions for the Spain international and now are waiting to hear back from the Catalans regarding their offer, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward having flown back from the club’s pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia on Thursday in order to push through the transfer.
And the Premier League champions are understood to be extremely hopeful of landing the 26-year-old after being given enough encouragement to believe the Spaniard is indeed interested in moving to Old Trafford this summer, despite previous reports suggesting otherwise.
Fabregas has only been back at Camp Nou for the past two seasons now, having originally returned to his boyhood club from Arsenal in August 2011 for an initial fee of 29m euros.
However, despite eye-catching stats of 29 goals and 32 assists in his 96 matches for Barca in that time, the playmaker has often struggled to hold down a regular starting berth in the Spanish giants’ midfield, giving Moyes hope that he would be keen on a move back to the Premier League this summer after all.
“I couldn’t tell you exactly,” said Moyes when asked in Australia at what stage United were at in their efforts to sign Fabregas.
“I’m in contact with the chief exec [vice-chairman Ed Woodward] who has been dealing with it just now.
“I’ll hopefully know a little more in the next day or so. It’s the middle of the night back in England right now so I may have a bit more information in the next day or so about how it’s going.
“As far as players we’re looking to bring in, we are working hard to do that and make some additions to the squad.
“Hopefully there will be some good news in the not too distant future.”