Cesc Fabregas is a question mark as the champions hunker down for a well-deserved summer break.
There hasn’t been as much speculation about Cesc as around the future of the Chelsea striker, or Nemanja Matic, but there`s been some.
Fabregas`s unhappiness with the amount of time he has spent on the bench is both well-documented and welcome: no manager wants a player who`s happy with not playing.
At the same time, no manager likes a malcontent – particularly one as influential in the dressing room as the veteran playmaker.
Some point to the Fabregas` renewed worth because last term didn`t feature his usual second-half-of-season form plunge; in fact, it`s doubtful that the Spaniard played as much as half a season`s worth of game-time.
Which is why, when he has played, he has been superb.
Though ‘only` 30, Fabregas (pictured above as a youngster) joined Barcelona in 1997 at the age of 10 – yes, that`s ten – moving to Arsenal six years later.
Breaking through into the first team almost immediately and from then on constantly, the silky playmaker has worn down quite a lot of the tread on his tyres.
On a minute by minute basis, Fabregas has probably put in the time of a 35- or 36-year old.
Try telling any pro player that his time is nearing an end and you`ll get short-shrift; while Antonio Conte certainly regards Cesc`s ability to come on and unlock a stubborn defence as gold-dust.
In his Serie A-winning Juventus side of 2011/12, Conte employed Pirlo, a player almost identical to Fabregas in both strengths and weaknesses.
But alongside Pirlo, Conte had the supernatural ball of energy that is Arturo Vidal, a player with a more goal-hungry skillset than our midfield.
If our own supernatural ball of energy Kante put in more performances like the one v Man United where he scored the winner, and regularly troubled opposing defences, perhaps Fabregas would fit more easily into Conte`s plans.
This is no slur whatever on N`Golo – we love him just fine doing exactly what he does.
Right now, the suspicion is that Conte is seeking a more Vidal/Lampard-like replacement for Matic.
The nature of that addition will determine Fabregas` future as a regular first-teamer.
That said, it`s hard to see Cesc becoming a first-team regular next season.
And at ‘only` 30, it`s easy to understand his deciding to move on for that job elsewhere.
Sadly for him, I predict frustration, rapid disenchantment and a return to the second-half-of-season dip, if he gets that wish.
Chelsea is where I feel Cesc belongs. His second home. And, most importantly, a place with a multitude of glorious plot twists still to come in part two of his Chelsea career.
Spensierato.