Moyes reveals Fabregas pursuit is ‘ongoing’

LONDON. David Moyes has insisted Manchester United’s attempts to sign Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas remain alive. The Red Devils initially bid £25m for the Spain international, before upping it to £30m. Both offers were rejected according to reports.Asked about any progress in United’s talks with Barcelona about Fabregas, Moyes responded: “Ongoing”.Moyes also said Robin van Persie, who pulled out of United’s last match on their Asian tour with a thigh injury, is expected to play against Cerezo Osaka on Friday despite being absent from training. The Scot added that injured forward Wayne Rooney is on the mend.“Wayne is running, probably at the level where we thought he would be just now, and he’ll pick up his work again,” he said.Disaffected Rooney’s withdrawal from United’s pre-season Asian tour with a minor hamstring injury has heightened speculation that a move away from Old Trafford is imminent. Rooney has been linked to Chelsea, but United have made it clear they are not interested in selling him - going so far as to post an eye-catching billboard on their Twitter account that announced his return for a friendly against Swedish side AIK on 6 August.United’s second friendly in Japan comes on the heels of their 3-2 loss to Yokohama Marinos on Tuesday. It was the Red Devils’ second defeat in three matches so far in their Asian tour, which will wind up with a game in Hong Kong next Monday.