Chelsea have taken pole position in the race to sign Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas following the departure of Frank Lampard.
It frees up a space in the Chelsea midfield and Barcelona are keen to offload Fabregas this summer to help fund their pursuit Atletico Madrid star Koke, who has also been attracting interest from the Blues.
Arsenal have first refusal on European Championship and World Cup winner Fabregas but the Gunners have indicated they are not interested in re-signing their former player for his reported £30million asking price.
That fee would not be a problem for Chelsea, who have just sold David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain for a whopping £40million, and would boost their home-grown quota as he was developed in London by Arsene Wenger.
Fabregas, though, would not be a popular choice with all Blues fans given his previous Gunners connection.
Chelsea fans largely point the finger at Fabregas for the banning of celery at Stamford Bridge in 2007 after Arsenal, and in particular the Spaniard, were unhappy at the amount of vegetables tossed onto the pitch during the Carling Cup final in Cardiff.
The match, which the Blues won 2-1 thanks to a Didier Drogba double, was interrupted as officials had to clear the pitch of the item and tempers flared, leading some media outlets to brand the clash the ‘Snarling Cup Final’.
Meanwhile, departing favourite Lampard has hailed the impact billionaire Blues owner Roman Abramovich has had on the club since he took over from Ken Bates. Re-live Lampard's best moments in our gallery.
