The CaughtOffside team takes a look at the biggest transfer if the summer so far.
On the day the 2014 World Cup in Brazil starts there was also big news in the transfer market as Chelsea signed former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas from FC Barcelona.
The midfielder joins the Blues on a five-year deal and after spending eight years with their North London rivals, this is sure to be a sore point among fans in the English capital.
However, due to a clause written in into Fabregas’ contract at the Nou Camp the Gunners did have the option to re-sign the 27-year-old themselves, but turned it down – something which the player himself has since confirmed.
So the CaughtOffside writers decided to analyse the deal and determine which party has come out of it the best.
Is Fabregas a good signing for Chelsea?
Mark Brus: Fabregas is a great replacement for Frank Lampard and will surely go down as one of the signings of the summer for Chelsea.
Jacob Daniel: Yes, he fits into an area of the pitch where they were lacking last season.
Adam Davies: Yes. Proven Premier League quality, and at a good price. Chelsea are likely to make a profit on selling David Luiz and Juan Mata to sign Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. That is remarkable business.
Steve Green: Yes, most definitely, he’d be a great signing for anyone. He can win teams points on his own.
Phil Haigh: Superb signing, he will be a great foil for Nemanja Matic in central midfield. He will not score as many as Frank Lampard in his pomp, but could be as influential.
Tom Seymour: For sure. At any other club than Barca the midfield would be built around him and that’s exactly what I expect Jose Mourinho to do.
Should Arsenal have re-signed him?
MB: Arsenal probably aren’t in great need of another midfielder of his type, but passing up the chance to sign him and letting him go to a Premier League rival looks a mistake now.
JD: Again, yes, despite being well stocked in midfield it was surely an opportunity that should’ve been too good to decline.
AD: Yes. Arsenal’s priorities might be elsewhere, and they certainly have excellent quality attacking midfielders in their starting XI, but Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere all missed substantial periods of the season through injury. Fabregas’ versatility too could come in handy too – few teams have encountered a false nine in the Premier League, and his ability to play as deep lying playmaker, attacking midfielder and just off a centre forward could prove have proved invaluable for the Gunners. Instead, it will be Chelsea that profit from those attributes.
SG: Absolutely, that could be something that comes back to haunt Arsene Wenger. Arsenal are in desperate need of someone to pull the strings in the middle and in Fabregas they would have had someone that knows, understands and loves the culture of the club.
PH: I can see why they didn’t, they have high hopes for the likes of Wilshere and Ramsey. But even so, you cannot pass up the opportunity to bring in a man of his class.
TS: Arsene Wenger could really live to regret allowing Fabregas to slip him by – even if the club do have a plethora of central midfielders currently.
Are Chelsea the right club for him or would there have been somewhere better?
MB: Fabregas’ style of play doesn’t immediately seem that suited to Chelsea’s, but Jose Mourinho tends to improve players and it will probably end up being a good move for him in terms of winning trophies.
JD: Hard to say. His creativity may be stifled slightly under Mourinho’s system but he is likely to win plenty of medals. I think Arsenal may have remained a better fit.
AD: Yes. Either of his two old clubs. After Cesc Fabregas was signed by FC Barcelona, he was played in a number of different positions. That brought about the aforementioned versatility, but did not allow him to develop into Xavi’s successor. With the veteran Spaniard now 34, Fabregas ought to have been granted the chance to play in Xavi’s role. Arsenal too could have welcomed a homecoming hero, but instead his legacy with the north London side may well be tarnished amongst fans of the Gunners.
SG: Possibly not, you can’t imagine Fabregas would be too happy ‘parking the buss’ on a regular basis, and Mourinho will be the first manager he’s had that hasn’t placed an emphasis on playing attractive football, which he won’t be used to. But on the other hand; he’ll probably win some trophies.
PH: There is no reason why Chelsea will not be a very good club for him. He will be a key part of their team which is what he deserves to be.
TS: There probably isn’t a better club for Fabregas right now and he’s sure to get plenty of game time in a team that I would pick to win the Premier League in 2014/15.
Will Barca regret selling him?
MB: I don’t think Barcelona will regret selling him, as he never really found his best form at the club. He wasn’t a signing they needed in the first place, and it looks like they have the highly impressive Ivan Rakitic coming in.
JD: I think so. Ivan Rakitic is an excellent player but the arrival of Luis Enrique is supposed to be heralding a slight change in style, something that should suit Fabregas.
AD: Yes. With Xavi ageing, and new manager Luis Enrique likely to attempt to return to the tiki taka style after a year of transition under Tata Martino, Fabregas could well have flourished in his primary position at his home club for the next five years. Instead, his time at Camp Nou leaves more questions than answers.
SG: Usually you’d say no, but they’ve already lost two big character in the shape of Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes, and with Dani Alves set to follow that’s four key stars that the club has lost. That’ll be damaging to any team.
PH: Possibly. It is yet to be seen how Ivan Rakitic will step up to the level of Barca and with Xavi coming and Iniesta ageing, Cesc could well have become a regular in the first team.
TS: Possibly, as Ivan Rakitic is an inferior player no matter how good a season he had with Sevilla and Xavi is fast approaching retirement.
SEE ALSO: The 50 best players at the 2014 World Cup.