Luis Enrique has been appointed the manager of Barcelona. Gerardo Martino has been sacked. Louis Van Gaal is the new manager of Manchester United. Ryan Giggs has retired from football. Ashley Cole is leaving Chelsea. Arsenal has won a trophy after nine years. Victor Valdes has left Barcelona.
Amidst all these chaos, the petty state of one man is hardly ever spoken off. He is one of the best players of the past decade and yet people never seem to think of him. If you are yet to find out, obviously I am talking about Cesc Fabregas.
No more than three years ago, he was at the forefront of European football and now, he is wandering amongst the shallow trails of beauty left in the Barcelona side. With the club reaching an unstable situation and with three different coaches in his three years at Camp Nou, Fabregas has failed to reach the level that was expected from him when he re-joined his boyhood club. It has also been reported that he could cost £45m and Barcelona are willing to part company with the midfielder.
So let’s look at three destinations that could serve him well.
Borussia Dortmund
While they may not have the big stars like Barcelona or Real Madrid, they have a great team and that’s all that matters. With Lewandowski leaving, the team will need a guiding force and Fabregas could well be the person.
Klopp’s penchant for attacking midfielders is well established and Fabregas clearly fits the bill. Just like Gotze and Kagawa, Fabregas can split a defense in the blink of an eye. Although Mkhitaryan is there, he doesn’t bring the star power that Fabregas does.
Manchester United
The first ever Dutch manager at Old Trafford has been roped in and that does come with a certain spice. Louis Van Gaal would be looking to assert his own style of football which is an attacking formation with huge traces of total football.
To play with such a style, Fabregas would be perfect. Having been schooled at the La Masia, Fabregas has been trained in tiki-taka and knows the system in and out. After having missed out on the midfielder last summer, this could be the perfect opportunity for the Red Devils to make their move. After spending 3 seasons at Barcelona, Fabregas is yet to land a specific position for himself and stands at a place where he has to make a crucial decision. At Manchester United, he can be that ball playing central midfielder playing alongside a defensive minded midfielder that will suit him the most.
Arsenal
The Prodigal son of Ashburton Grove. For few players bring upon a smile to the lips of Gooners every time they are mentioned. Cesc Fabregas, was perhaps the last of the invincibles churned out by Wenger.
True to his ability, Fabregas amazed the world with his brilliance at Arsenal. He was special, he made ordinary players look excellent, he made a disheartened team come into life, he connected with the club in a way no one else did.
He was the man who replaced the non-flying Dutchman. Arsenal may have Ozil and Cazorla but they never will replace Cesc. It is time Emirates geared up for a return.