Fabregas captains Blues as Monaco switch looms

Cesc Fabregas will captain Chelsea for their FA Cup third-round tie against Nottingham Forest in what could be his final game for the club.

Fabregas, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the season, is reportedly close to joining Monaco and bringing his four-and-a-half year spell at Chelsea to a close.

The 31-year-old cost Chelsea £27million when he arrived from Barcelona in June 2014 and the former Arsenal playmaker helped the Blues to the Premier League title and the League Cup in his first season back in English football. 

Another league title followed in 2016-17 – the third of Fabregas’ career – but he has made just six Premier League appearances this season under Maurizio Sarri.

Today’s captain! @cesc4official #CHEFOR pic.twitter.com/3aYNa9HQ0m

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 5, 2019

Sarri, who secured the signing of Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic earlier in the week – the USA midfielder will spend the rest of the season at Signal Iduna Park, named 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi alongside Alvaro Morata in the Blues’ attack to face Forest.

Hudson-Odoi scored in Chelsea’s 4-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League earlier in the season but has been restricted to just 42 minutes as a substitute in the Premier League this term.