5 replacements for Cesc Fabregas at Chelsea

#1 Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund)

The brilliant German will be a superb buy if Chelsea can get him to sign for them

The brilliant young German is top of this list for a reason; he has everything required to become as good as the world’s best registas: Pep Guardiola, Xavi Hernandez, Andrea Pirlo & the likes.

With an intelligence that belies his tender years, the German international is adept at both the offensive and defensive sides of the game.

Acting as the deepest member of a midfield triangle, Weigl is of great importance in the early parts of attacking build ups at his club; Borussia Dortmund.

More often than not, it is he who is tasked with receiving the ball from the center-backs and starting attacks. He also acts as a decoy, creating space for the likes of Omer Toprak to advance with the ball.

In situations where the intention is to quickly counter, his quick thinking and long-range passes usually free up the wingers or overlapping full-backs to create havoc by getting the ball to them quickly and bypassing the opposition midfield.

Also capable, if need be, of acting as the most defensive player in a midfield two/trio, his marking and tackling abilities are adequate and would be especially useful in the helter-skelter world of the Premier League.

It is difficult to determine just how much the Blues will need to part with to get the young genius but if they can get him in, his impact on the team would be huge as Kante would get the ideal midfield partner while the frontline will be assured of getting early and incisive passes deep from midfield.