Chelsea manager Antonio Conte still wants Cesc Fabregas to become an all action midfield player despite the Spaniard turning 31 on his next birthday.
The Blues boss was very complimentary about the midfielder’s display on the ball in the 2-0 win over Everton yesterday, but the Italian’s drive for perfection means he still wants to see more from the creative midfield talent off the ball. He was quoted by the Evening Standard as saying that he wants Fabregas to emulate his midfield partner N’Golo Kante:
“He scored an important goal for us. We all know his characteristics. He’s a great player, good technique: when we have possession with Cesc, we can play really good football. Now he’s trying also to improve the defensive situations to try and be more strong, to try and be a bit like N’Golo. But he has to work (on that).”
Such a comment seems to suggest that Fabregas may find himself out of the starting line up on occasion this season as Conte seeks solidity at the back. The Spanish international started only 18 times last season with Nemanja Matic generally given the nod in big matches to play alongside Kante.
Tiemoue Bakayoko’s arrival to replace the Serbian will likely see the Frenchman being employed next to his countryman in some games, but we will have to wait and see how that plays out in upcoming matches.
