Real boss Zidane leaves door ajar for ‘great’ Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas: Left out of Chelsea side

Cesc Fabregas: Left out of Chelsea side

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has left the door open on a swoop for Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Zidane hinted he might have to offload a player or two if he was to make a serious effort to land Fabregas, but he did not rule out a transfer for the 29-year-old.

“If you want to put another central midfielder into the mix then it becomes complicated.

“Cesc is a great player but it is not very straightforward,” Zidane said after Real’s 5-3 friendly victory over Reims last night.

Not quite the sentiment that has been reported in the Daily Star, who claim that Real, Barcelona, Paris St Germain and Juventus have all snubbed the advances of the Catalan metronome.

Spanish newspaper Sport yesterday claimed Fabregas wanted out of Stamford Bridge and had spoken with Real supremo Florentino Perez about a move to Madrid.

Sky Sports immediately contradicted those reports and insisted the former Barcelona man wanted to fight his way into Chelsea’s starting XI. And new Blues boss Antonio Conte, who left Fabregas on the bench for Monday’s 2-1 win over West Ham, claimed the Spain man’s future with the club was safe.

“Cesc is Chelsea’s player, and I’m happy about him, with his attitude and behaviour,” said Conte on Monday night.

“He must know from before that when we are a great team like Chelsea it can happen that I have to take a decision before the game to choose a starting XI.

“That can happen that Fabregas is not in the starting XI, but it can happen for all the players.”

Fabregas came through the academy at the Real’s deadly rivals Barcelona – and a move to the Bernabeu would most definitely infuriate the Catalan club’s fans.