Chelsea may foot the bill to unload Cesc Fabregas to AC Milan

AC Milan may be losing interest in Cesc Fabregas because of the heavy wages he commands at Chelsea. The Blues may end up chipping in a few pounds to see him on his way to Italy.

Rumours of a Cesc Fabregas transfer to either of the Milan clubs have circulated since the summer. The chatter last month had AC Milan buying Fabregas for cash and defender Mattia De Sciglio. The Serie A club now think that even a cash buy-out would be overpayment, and are looking elsewhere for cheaper midfield options.

According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea are keeping AC Milan at the table by offering to loan Fabregas and cover some of his Chelsea wages. Fabregas currently makes £160,000 per week on a contract with Chelsea running through 2018.

More from Chelsea FC Transfer Rumours

• Shocking transfer news as Chelsea open to selling star player Reece James
• The real reason why Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen rejected Burnley
• Chelsea’s agreement with Lukaku revealed as EPL club lurk
• Chelsea to spend £85m on two young stars as release clause activated
• Chelsea want to hijack Liverpool for a second signing

Despite Antonio Conte’s press conference proclamations and Fabregas’ Instagram posts, the Spanish midfielder has never found favor in the boss’s system. Fabregas looked on the verge of a powerful return after scoring Chelsea’s two extra time goals in the EFL Cup against Leicester City. Fabregas started the next game against Arsenal and, well, we all know how that went.

Lineups are zero-sum situations for the squad. If Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses are finding new life in new positions, and Nemanja Matic and Gary Cahill are resurrecting their stalled careers, someone in Blue loses out. Branislav Ivanovic and Cesc Fabregas are paying the biggest prices for Chelsea’s recent run of form.

Chelsea’s exit from the EFL Cup places Fabregas in a similar situation as Chelsea’s youth players. They cannot maintain match sharpness – let alone crack the starting XI – without playing. But they will never get to play when the starting XI is dominating the Premier League fixtures so thoroughly.

Antonio Conte’s welcome penchant for using Academy products put Fabregas in an even worse position. Nathaniel Chalobah is Conte’s preferred backup – Premier League substitute and EFL Cup starter – in centre-midfield.

Must Read: Cesc Fabregas and N'Golo Kante: Chelsea's tale of two midfielders

The final kicker for Fabregas’ time in Blue may be N’Golo Kante’s completely unexpected versatility on the ball. Kante’s goal against Manchester United and his passing against Southampton showed that he has some Cesc-ish skills hidden in his back pocket. No one believes that Fabregas has any Kante-esque abilities on defence lurking in his bag.

The original concept of Kante and Fabregas complementing each other in midfield falls apart when Kante can single-handedly play both roles. Maybe this is what Claudio Ranieri meant when he said Kante plays as two men.

Next: Blue October: Awards for Chelsea's best month of the year

Antonio Conte put Chelsea’s lineup through several rounds of musical chairs as he took the club from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 and finally to the 3-4-3 formation. After four straight Premier League clean sheets the music has stopped, and Cesc Fabregas is left standing.