Chelsea fire sale: Antonio Conte right to sell these five in January?

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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea waits for kick off during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

3. Cesc Fabregas

Antonio Conte is just not that high on Cesc Fabregas by the looks of it. Fabregas has been on the bench for Chelsea this season, with the Spaniard starting in just one game. That game was, of course, the 3-0 trouncing at the hands of Arsenal.

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Conte dragged Fabregas off after 55 minutes. Probably cursing himself for yielding and even giving Fabregas a start to begin with. The playmaker impressed days earlier in EFL Cup game against Leicester City, scoring two goals to guide Chelsea to victory.

There was pressure for Fabregas to finally start a Premier League game, but the circumstances were wrong. Fabregas is in a system he can perform in, but he’s not got the pieces around him for that to happen.

Fabregas is a specialist player. He is what he is. You have to put the right players around him to get the best out of him. A cumbersome Matic and a Kante who cannot get the ball to Fabregas in the right areas are not it.

Antonio Conte either doesn’t know how to use Fabregas, doesn’t want to play the players needed to play around him or just feels like he doesn’t have the players necessary to fully use him. The answer to that question answers whether the Fabregas should be out the door come January.

On talent, Chelsea need Fabregas. But what use is a fine wine without a bottle opener?

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