Chelsea icon Cesc Fabregas trying to thwart Liverpool as he makes Barcelona plea

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Chelsea hero Cesc Fabregas has urged Barcelona to avoid selling Gavi to Liverpool despite the Reds having been linked with a move for his services ahead of the summer transfer window. The 17-year-old has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest talents since breaking through at Barcelona and is thought to be on Liverpool’s radar as the Merseyside giants weigh up a move for his signature in advance of next season.

Gavi has been locked in talks with Barcelona over a new and improved contract in recent months but reports have claimed that both parties have reached an impasse and could fail to agree terms in a major boost to Liverpool’s hopes of bringing the midfielder to Anfield. Fabregas is adamant that Gavi must not be allowed to leave the club, though, with the Spaniard having insisted that his own situation that led to him joining Arsenal back in 2003 was a totally different scenario.

“He has to stay here,” said Fabregas when quizzed on Gavi’s long-term future in a recent interview with Catalunya Radio, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.

“He has played a lot of games in a difficult moment during the history of the club and at 17 years old, he’s shown face, throwing himself into it and with a lot of personality. He’s very good but of course, he’s just 17 years old and he can improve a lot.

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“My situation was different. I was in the Cadete [under-16s] and I wasn’t even in the Juvenil [under-19s]. They [Arsenal] promised that I would train with the first team there and at Barca I wouldn’t.”

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Gavi will eventually be able to strike a deal with Barcelona in order to commit his future to the Catalan giants over the coming months. Recent reports claim the youngster wants to stay at Barcelona despite Liverpool being able to offer him more money in wages, but is yet to agree to a new contract and club president Joan Laporta recently slammed the player’s representatives by claiming that they are yet to respond to his latest offer, which he claims was tabled earlier this year.

“The new contract offer was on the table for [Gavi’s] agent a long time ago,” Laporta told Spanish media earlier this week. “We haven’t heard that he has accepted it. What we have heard is that he is comparing it and that he will have something to say soon.

“We have already told him our position and, right now, the player’s agent isn’t accepting it. Gavi is a player that we all like, he is 17 years old, he has a magnificent present and future at Barcelona.

“We don’t understand why his agent is playing games and comparing offers. I think that the club’s offer, given our salary levels, is more than acceptable.”

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