Tuesday night’s victory over reigning Premier League champions Leicester City was vital for a number of reasons but the standout performance was that of Cesc Fabregas, who scored twice on his second start of the season, the first being in the same competition up against Leicester City. The Spaniard hopes that his performance will put an end to speculation regarding his future at Stamford Bridge as he said:
“I was happy to play from the start and if I can help the team then fantastic… Hopefully this will shut up a few journalists who are chatting rubbish all the time… I know what I can do and it’s a lot for this team.”
Fabregas also acknowledged how difficult the past few weeks have been for him as he finds himself on the fringes of the first team under Antonio Conte. He told the press:
“I always give my everything, always. I’ve been training very hard. It is a new situation in my career after 13 years of basically playing everything for my club and national team. And it has been tough. I’m not going to deny it. But the last thing I will do is complain or put my hands up and give in.”
Now, it is his job to ensure that he builds on his superb midweek performance and impresses if selected to start against Arsenal at the weekend.
John Terry is also nearing a return to action as he took part in training throughout this week with no problems so far. The Daily Mail report that this weekend’s tie against the Gunners may be coming too soon for a return for the former England captain, but he shouldn’t be out for too much longer as he nears a return from ankle ligament damage.
The return of Terry cannot come soon enough for Antonio Conte, having seen Gary Cahill and David Luiz suffer their fair share of shakey moments as a central defensive pairing up against both Liverpool and Leicester. Terry’s reliability and experience may help to control Luiz, whilst Cahill seems less assured without his regular partner, and the Blues will want to get back to their best as soon as possible with a tough run of fixtures ahead.
At the other end of the pitch, Alvaro Morata has confirmed that Chelsea made a £60 million bid for his services during the summer, according to Sky Sports. The Real Madrid forward, who played under Conte at Juventus, has played a rotated role for the Spanish club since rejoining them in the summer but the bid was rejected out of hand as the Spaniard was seen as vital to their squad improvements for the coming season.
The fact that Chelsea didn’t instead sign another target may suggest that they could make a January move or a move next summer, either for Morata once again, or for another target. However, it could also be because the club managed to keep hold of Diego Costa, which looked uncertain as Atletico Madrid monitored their former forward for much of the summer.
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