Barca close on £40m Fabregas, Chelsea to sign Nemanja Matic

Barcelona's attempts to sign Arsenal captain and former Camp Nou starlet Cesc Fabregas (above left) will intensify in the forthcoming weeks, says the Daily Mail, as a power struggle at the top of the European champions threatens to make the 22-year-old's signing the key issue in next year's presidential elections at the club. The Catalan giants' president, Joan Laporta, is under pressure from Sandro Rosell for the top job at the club. Rosell has made the recapture of Fabregas a top priority and key pledge in his election campaign, and is said to have an agreement in place with Fabregas's advisors. Laporta could trump his challenger by buying the Spanish midfielder now, but would have to dig deep to match Arsenal's £40m valuation of their star man...

Chelsea are on the verge of signing Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic from Slovakian club Kosice, the Daily Telegraph reports. The 20-year-old international, who had a trial at Middlesbrough and has also interested other Premier League clubs, told the Serbian Daily Press: "The London club are very interested about seeing me in their ranks this summer. All in all, there's a big possibility that I'll become a Chelsea player in the next few days." Matic's transfer is likely to cost the west Londoners an initial outlay of £5m, rising depending on appearances...

Steve Bruce, Sunderland's new manager, has raided his old club Wigan to bring midfielder Lee Cattermole to the Stadium of Light, according to the Guardian. The north-east club paid £6m for the 21-year-old, who joins the Black Cats on a four-year deal. Cattermole had only spent a year at Wigan, having turned out for fellow north-easterners Middlesbrough before that, and has played for the England Under-21 team. It's Bruce's fourth signing of the summer...

Michael Mancienne, Chelsea's highly rated young English defender, will sign a new four-year contract with the Stamford Bridge side before heading off on a season-long loan to Premier League new boys Wolves, the Times reveals. The dual deal consolidates the Londoners' faith in the 21-year-old's talent, while allowing him to return to the club where he first caught the eye of England manager Fabio Capello last season, earning a call-up to the national set-up...