Chelsea tricks: Antonio Conte is driving up Cesc Fabregas' transfer value

Chelsea wants to fetch a high price for Cesc Fabregas in January

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte knows that Cesc Fabregas doesn’t have a long-term future at Stamford Bridge. He isn’t going to tell other clubs that though. He wants to sell the Spanish midfielder for a hefty price once the January transfer window opens.

Fabregas’ future has been the subject of conflicting reports as of late. First, reports from Italy claimed that AC Milan had all but wrapped up a deal for him in January. Of course, Conte came out yesterday and vehemently denied those reports.

Instead, the former Italy boss continues to publicly insist that Fabregas is very much a part of his future plans at Chelsea. If you believe Conte on this matter, I’d like to discuss some really exciting moon real estate opportunities with you.

Conte is doing what’s best for Chelsea. He knows that if he tells the media that Fabregas is surplus to requirements, that news will spread like wildfire. More importantly, it will slash the price the club can ask for him in the January transfer market.

If other European clubs know that Chelsea don’t want Fabregas, they aren’t going to bid very much for him. At best they’ll be trying to take advantage of an asset that Chelsea don’t value at all. At worst, other clubs might assume that Conte has correctly assessed Fabregas’ skills as inadequate for big-time competition. Either way, it’s bad for Chelsea.

The right strategy, and the one Conte is employing, is to act like he’s an integral part of the club right up until the day he’s sold. That means other clubs have to offer Chelsea considerably more money for his services. A club of Chelsea’s caliber isn’t going to let an asset, no matter how distressed, go for less than market value.

Expect to read a lot more reports about Cesc Fabregas and his Chelsea future right up until the day he’s sold. Still expect that day to occur this January. The Spanish midfielder just isn’t up to Chelsea’s caliber anymore.