Chelsea have decided that Arsenal have had it their way at the top of the table for long enough, and that they should finally offer some reasonable competition in the battle to provide the most overqualified loanee in British football. Sure, it could certainly be argued that Jack Wilshere was already second or indeed third best in a competition for which Chelsea have already nearly 40 players, among them Juan Cuadrado, a 28-year-old with 56 caps for Colombia and league winners’ medals from Italy and England, and Loïc Rémy, a 29-year-old with 31 caps for France and league winners’ medals from France and England, but this one is a certain, absolute, guaranteed title-stealer: they have just made available a man who turns 30 in May and whose trophy cabinet boasts 110 international caps, two European Championships and a World Cup.
The bigwigs at Stamford Bridge have decided that Cesc Fàbregas’s £160,000-a-week wages are a little overhigh for someone who has little chance of starting a league game. The Times reports that they came close to letting him join Milan back in August, but couldn’t decide what proportion of his wages they should reasonably offer to continue paying. It is a question they have pondered at length over the last two months, and have now come to a decision. The Times doesn’t know what it is, but interested clubs may apply at the usual address.
Branislav Ivanovic has also found himself on the Stamford Bridge bench in recent weeks, and if he doesn’t fight his way off it sharpish he could be forced Fàbregas-style out of the club. The Mirror reports that he “has admirers in England, Europe and China”, with Crystal Palace the only club they care to name.
Long-term Rumour Mill favourite Isco is in the news again, with Tottenham Hotspur apparently still interested in signing the 24-year-old, possibly on loan, in January. The bad news for Mauricio Pochettino is that the Spaniard has started each of Real Madrid’s last four league games, finishing two of them, so may prove tricky to prise away. Also interested, apparently, are Chelsea, though before they manoeuvre one overpaid creative Spaniard they don’t really need out of the club only to immediately bring a different one in again they should really have a long, hard look at themselves. The Mill meanwhile, might have to bid a tearful farewell to another name that will be familiar to regular readers, Alexandre Lacazette, if the Lyon goal-grabber agrees the bumper new contract his club are rumoured to be thrusting in his direction.
Chelsea have completed a deal for one foreign import – Ambrosoli honey-flavoured toffees, now being specially imported to London from Italy at the request of Antonio Conte, who according to the Mail “goes through dozens of the small sweets each day” to soothe a throat rendered hoarse by his non-stop hollering.
Malian striker Moussa Marega is already on loan – from Porto to Vitória Guimaraes – but not for long, if assorted Premier League clubs get their way. According to the Sun the 25-year-old, whose hat-trick against Rio Ave at the weekend took his season tally to 10 goals in eight games and is pleasingly nicknamed The Terminator, is wanted by Liverpool, Tottenham, Watford, Crystal Palace, Stoke and Sunderland, none of whom are likely to be put off by his £6m price tag, double the fee Porto paid to sign him from Maritimo in January. But fellow Portugal-based ace Gonçalo Guedes won’t be moving to Manchester United in January, having decided to stay at Benfica until the summer, the spoilsport.
