Reports from Mediaset Premium suggest that Chelsea want to get Cesc Fabregas’ wages off the bill and are prepared to offload him in the winter transfer window. Antonio Conte is said to be ready to offer £43 million and Fabregas in a cash + swap deal for PSG’s Italy international Marco Verratti this January.
The Blues are in a rebuilding phase this season and want to construct a new look midfield without the once-influential Fabregas and Marco Verratti is on top of their wish list.
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Conte is reportedly a big fan of the Italian, whom he knows well from their time together during his stint as Italian national team coach and before he took up the role of Stamford Bridge boss in the summer.
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With N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic forming Conte’s first choice pairing in midfield this season, Fabregas has found himself consistently on the sidelines and has been linked with moves to AC Milan as well as several other clubs.
The reason for Verratti’s unrest has been sourced to the acquisition of Poland midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak by Unai Emery this summer. This increased competition has made it a lot more difficult for Verratti to command a regular midfield berth in the first team this season.
Fabregas and Mikel to be shown the door
Chelsea have been on the PSG midfielder’s trail for quite a while now, with Conte wanting to clear the decks in midfield; specifically, also giving him a reason to ditch both Fabregas and John Obi Mikel.
Chelsea face stiff competition from the likes of AC Milan and Juventus who are also interested in the PSG ace’s signature.
Other interested parties include their London rivals Arsenal and Barcelona who were alerted to apparent unrest between Verratti and Emery. An incident being consistently mentioned is one that took place during a 0-0 league draw between Marseille and PSG where Verratti appeared visibly frustrated and angered at Emery when he was substituted during the match.
Move to Bayern Munich ruled out
There had also been talks of a possible reunion between Verratti and Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti, the person responsible for bringing the Italy midfielder to PSG in 2012. However, any such speculation has been played down by Ancelotti with Bayern already stacked with talent in midfield.
However, Chelsea hold the upper hand as they are prepared to offer Fabregas and £43 million as part of any deal, with the Spain international having falling down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
With Thiago Motta also set to leave upon the expiry of his contract at the end of this season, PSG could yet decide to keep Verratti and leave no room for Fabregas.
But any swap deal involving Verratti and Fabregas would clearly suit all the interested parties, with Fabregas’s vision and technical acumen still a fit for any of the world’s best teams.
