Midfielder Hleb joined Arsenal for �11.2m in 2005

Barcelona vice-president Marc Ingla has confirmed the club are in talks to sign Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb.

The 27-year-old Belarus international has long been linked with the Spanish giants, with Inter Milan also keen.

Ingla revealed on Catalunya Radio: "Barcelona's negotiations with Hleb are still in progress.

"But despite him being a player with special qualities, if his club are not ready to sell him, we have other options in mind."

Earlier this month, Hleb's agent said the winger had met representatives from Barcelona with a view to a transfer.

"We have had talks with Barcelona but nothing has been signed," Uli Ferber told BBC Sport.

Hleb has held discussions with the Gunners, but there is now a strong possibility that he will be leaving the club this summer.

The midfielder had been linked with a move to Inter Milan but the Serie A club's appointment of Jose Mourinho appears to have ended any chance of that move.

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"I'm sorry that we won't be able to take him to Italy, he liked Inter a lot but obviously Mourinho has made some different choices and has gone for some other names," said Hleb's representative Vincenzo Morabito.

Earlier in the season, it was reported that the former Stuttgart midfielder held secret talks with Inter when in the city ahead of Arsenal's Champions League game against rivals AC Milan at the San Siro.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger threatened to report Inter to football's governing body Fifa if they continued their 'illegal' pursuit of Hleb after former boss Roberto Mancini declared his interest in the player.

Hleb joined Arsenal in 2005, signing a four-year contract, after the club paid Stuttgart �11.2m for his services.