Cesc Fabregas encouraged by Maurizio Sarri appointment

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said that he has been encouraged by the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as the Blues next manager. The Italian’s arrival is expected to revert the club to the 4-3-3 formation from the 3-4-3 often adopted under Antonio Conte and Fabregas is relishing the prospect of getting more freedom from the centre of the park.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: "His way of football, I believe in. I really like it, I grew up in this system, in this quality of football, that he wants to bring to the football club. I think the type of player like myself, we can take a lot of advantage. We just have to train very hard, be united, be a team."

The Blues were first expected to appoint following the FA Cup final but the move was delayed for nearly 50 days after they failed to find a breakthrough with Napoli with regards to a compensation.

Nevertheless, they have finally got their wish and the focus is now expected to lie on potential transfers with Sarri keen on recruiting at least four players.

To date, the Blues have made just a single signing with Jorginho reuniting with Sarri from Napoli but there is expected to be plenty of movement in the coming weeks with the Juventus pair of Gonzalo Higuain and Daniele Rugani linked. Both Higuain and Rugani worked under Sarri during their periods with Napoli and Empoli respectively and the duo could be headed to Stamford Bridge for a combined fee of around £80m.

Meanwhile, the west London giants are also pondering over potential departures before the transfer deadline and Alvaro Morata has been one, who has been strongly linked with a probable exit. The Spain international managed just 15 goals during his debut season for the Blues and he is now being associated with an exit to compensate for the potential arrival of Higuain.