Should Manchester United make a move for Fabregas?

Cesc Fabregas has fallen out of favor at Chelsea this season, and he might just be the player Manchester United need.

The Spaniard’s current deal at Stamford Bridge expires next summer, and the Blues could choose to offload him in January to avoid losing him for free.

Although it is believed that Maurizio Sarri wants to keep him at the club, Fabregas could force a move away thanks to his lack of game time.

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Valencia and AC Milan are interested in signing him. The latter even reportedly made a cash offer of around €8 million, with Chelsea demanding €12 million.

At the age of 31, it’s understandable why Fabregas isn’t capturing the attention of some bigger clubs, but he might just be the player that Jose Mourinho needs to fix his midfield at Old Trafford.

What would he offer?

The former Barcelona midfielder has played a wide range of roles for club and country. He is primarily a creative central midfielder, but has been deployed as a false nine (Spain), and as a deep-lying playmaker (Chelsea) as well.

United are currently suffering from a lack of creativity in midfield. With Michael Carrick retiring last season, they failed to sign a similar replacement in the summer transfer window.

They did buy Fred for £52 million, but the Brazilian is more of a workhorse than a creative force. The same can be said for Ander Herrera as well.

Nemanja Matic is utilized by Mourinho as a first line of defense, and Marouane Fellaini is on the opposite end of the spectrum from players like Fabregas and Carrick.

Jesse Lingard has played in central midfield for England, but he showed against Arsenal that his best position is a free-roaming just off the two central forwards (Martial and Rashford in this case).

That leaves Paul Pogba – but the Frenchman’s form for his club is unusually erratic. His showboating is sometimes over the top, and his tendency to hold on to the ball slows the pace of the game.

Pogba lost possession 14 times in the match against Southampton – something that is unacceptable in Mourinho’s style of play.

Some fans might argue that United have a natural playmaker in Juan Mata, but the Spaniard is not the kind of player who can be deployed in a 3 man midfield. He needs 2 solid holding midfielders behind him to operate freely, and that would mean leaving Pogba on the bench. Besides, Matic is the only traditional midfielder that Mourinho currently has.

This brings us to Fabregas. He made his first start in the Premier League this season in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Wolves, and was criticized for his sluggishness.

But that is to be expected from a player who has made only 4 appearances so far, and is simply lacking in match fitness.

What Fabregas essentially offers is the ability to occupy a deep midfield role, controlling the pace of the game, and picking out the runs of attackers.

United’s pacy forwards like Martial, Rashford, Lingard and even Lukaku could thrive with a player like him operating behind them.

He is also familiar with Mourinho’s system, having won the Premier League under him in 2015.

Sir Alex Ferguson had Paul Scholes for almost his entire career at Old Trafford. Since his retirement, United have never truly managed to find a replacement for him.

The Red Devils have had problems in almost all areas of the pitch so far. The issue with their midfield seems to be an indecisiveness when they have possession.

Fabregas would help in moving the ball around the pitch more quickly, and with purpose. When he’s at his best, his vision is almost inhuman – he is the second highest all-time assist provider in the Premier League, with 111.

The rather obvious problem here is his age. Fabregas would obviously just be a temporary measure, and while a center back and a forward will be United’s priority in winter, they definitely need a more creative midfielder for the long-term.

Chelsea’s asking fee would definitely not be an issue for Woodward and co. It probably wouldn’t be the dream signing that fans will be expecting, and it almost definitely won’t happen, but United have been linked with him several times in the past. Weirder things have happened in football.