AC Milan are interested in completing a second raid of Chelsea this season by prising Cesc Fabregas away from Stamford Bridge in January, reports Corriere dello Sport.
Fabregas has entered the final 12 months of his existing Chelsea deal and is unlikely to be given a new long-term deal.
The Spaniard is 31 and Chelsea’s policy with players over 30 is usually only to hand them a one-year deal at best.
Players at that age only tend to have one good contract left in their career and a 12-month deal at Chelsea will not satisfy most when they can get longer deals elsewhere.
A knee injury has sidelined Fabregas from Chelsea’s first four league matches this season and playing time will be limited this season.
Maurizio Sarri bolstered his midfield options in the summer by signing Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic and both are already first choice under the Italian.
Milan have been heavily linked with a move for Fabregas in the past and hope to make the most out of his contract situation in the New Year.
The Serie A giants have an open dialogue with Chelsea after signing Tiemoue Bakayoko on a season-long loan deal in the summer.
Fabregas turns 32 at the end of the season but Milan believe the former Barcelona creator will still be able to do a job for the team and hope to sign him for a cut-price deal.
Milan will also be able to strike a pre-contract agreement with Fabregas in January to sign him for nothing in the summer.
Since August 2014, only Kevin De Bruyne (43) has provided more Premier League assists than Fabregas (41).
This guy is made for Italy at this point in his career. Will probably be great there. Still class at distribution.
@kmp0410 - Agreed. He could be a great regista if a team is willing to provide him with the legwork. It's pretty amazing that he has the second most assists in the PL the last 4 years when he was a rotation option in the last 2.