The Dein family is poised to have its financial revenge on Arsenal after it emerged that Darren Dein, the son of David Dein, the Gunners' former vice-chairman, is to represent Cesc Fabregas in the midfielder's contract negotiations.
Talks are expected to open in the next few weeks with the club determined to quell speculation linking the Spaniard with a return to his homeland by offering him a lucrative new deal. Fabregas' current contract runs until 2014 but the Arsenal hierarchy have recognised the need to improve his remuneration in order to reflect his status.
However, according to The Daily Telegraph, 'the Arsenal board were then furious when they found out that Fabregas sacked his Spanish agent, Joseba Diaz seven weeks ago and replaced him with Darren Dein.'
The newspaper reports their misgivings as being two-fold. Firstly, 'The board's acrimonious relationship with Darren's father is well known after he was forced out of the club last year and then teamed up with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has acquired a 24.2 per cent stake in the club.' Secondly, 'It is understood the board feel the fall-out from that split could now impact on the negotiations with Fabregas. Darren Dein also represents his friend Thierry Henry - Dein was best man at Henry's wedding - and struck a hard bargain when the former Arsenal striker was weighing up whether to move to Barcelona two years ago.'
A 'hard bargain' is something of an understatement.
Detailed analysis of Arsenal's accounts for 2006 found evidence to suggest that Thierry Henry was paid as much as £10m during his final season at the club, receiving a £5m signing-on fee when he put pen to paper on a new contract in addition to his £5m salary. Just 12 months later, however, he left the club for Barcelona.
While Arsenal's board are now reported to be concerned about the impact their split with David Dein will have on their attempt to secure Fabregas' future, it has been speculated that it was their dealings with Darren Dein over Henry which actually prompted the ousting of his father. 'The award of an up-front payment to Henry for his signing-on fee contributed to the rancour between Dein Sr and the rest of the board in the lead-up to his departure 12 months ago,' claimed The Guardian last month.