The only place to be

Fake.

'll say it now....Fabregas is exactly the type of player that Torres needs. Those long, accurate balls over the top for him to run onto are what made his reputation at Liverpool. Costa and Lukaku can also thrive on those types of balls as well. It will be interesting to see the impact it has on Oscar who won't have to drop so deep and can play almost as a second striker. Schurrle in that position in what would essentially be a 442 (or 4411 if we're being pedantic) when we're attacking is mouthwatering too. Tactical versatility.

That's encouraging stuff. Granted Milan don't put too much pressure on him but he plays a lot of nice quick balls, a lot of two touch stuff (unsurprisingly) and the ability to advance the ball through the defensive lines which Ramires struggles with and Matic only does occasionally. He follows his passes intelligently as well. A few times he gets caught in possession and I'm still to be convinced what he can do when we don't have possession but there's enough about him to get excited.

All reasons to be happy with this deal. The price is extremely good value in this market, although the wages seem a little high based on the reports. As long as Jose signs off on this deal then it's a very exciting prospect and another excellent bit of business by the club. Matic, Fabregas, Ramires, Van Ginkel, Chalobah and possibly Tiago is a very nice set of midfielders and gives us tactical flexibility. Cesc (might as well get used to calling him by his first name, lest I call him cunt by accident) provides cover at 10, should be an upgrade in the pivot and also gives us a rather tasty midfield 3 of Matic, Ramires and himself if we go 433. I think he could also be a great influence on Van Ginkel who has it in him to be a similar player. The guy was captain at Arsenal so he's not some kid. We've got players around their peak in every area of the pitch now, which is a great framework to introduce young players into. The analogy I use for introducing young players is a Christmas Tree. Young players are the decorations but you need a solid spine to hang them on. If you've got a Matic or Fabregas in midfield then you can put Chalobah there because there's someone to keep him in check. Similarly you can use an Omeruo or Kalas in the defence when you've got experience around them. It'll take a while for me to get excited about Fabregas as a player in this team because I need to see it in action to be convinced, but in terms of the transfer itself, the way it's been conducted and some of the other benefits he brings then it's a solid bit of business by the club that seems to be (once again) drawing admiring glances from other fans.

I agree that our defence is reliant on the system to a certain extent, but I think we'll probably be a lot more adventurous next season. I fancy Hazard to light it up big style and Costa will hopefully help immensely. In the games against the big teams though, I don't know if Fabregas starts.

I think a lot of work would be needed between Oscar and Fabregas in terms of pressing the ball and helping out Matic. Have them alternate when we lose the ball but use them both when in possession. I just think there's a vulnerability with him. I hope it works if we get him and maybe Jose sees this as an unexpected challenge/opportunity. I trust him.

Wasn't the rationale United fans used for signing Mata? In fact wasn't his lack of physicality and defensive workrate the reason we sold him? I know it's probably a different situation because those types of things must not be as important in the pivot as they are at number 10. If we must sign a former Arsenal midfielder from Barcelona, wouldn't Alex Song be cheaper, homegrown and probably a better fit for our midfield? 11 assists in 2011-2012 too.

The most inevitable signing of the summer is nearly done. Yay. Can see exactly where he fits in the team, can see exactly where he fits in with the manager's philosophy and can't wait to see him in the shirt....which might not be true of every transfer out there.

I think the point is that whilst no-one can deny he's a good footballer, no-one can say for certain if he can play the role we'll ask of him. Maybe we'll adjust it from last season or maybe he'll simply fit right in. But for me it comes down to the speed with which he does things. He's not lazy like Matt Le Tissier (who was also prodigiously talented, could score goals and pick out a pass) but he's certainly not that physical and he never seems to increase the tempo of a game with snappy passes like Modric. Maybe Jose can mould him and if he gets behind this signing then who am I to question it? But it worries me.

Which academy prospect? Christensen is the only one who springs to mind (Kalas and Omeruo are both purchases) and he's far from ready and also a different type of defender to Zouma. That's a great point. £100K at 18 means what when he's 23 and then when he's 27??

Not really. You're going to have to be specific about which foreigners you're talking about though because the cases of Atsu and Salah would be different from Boga and Ake. Again, dancing around the issue of how his reported wages might actually be a factor in purchasing him because you don't like them. Hazard is a lot more marketable than Shaw so his wages could be justified slightly because of things like image rights. Again, that's really not the point because Hazard was also far better than Shaw when we bought him. Wages are an issue in this transfer. Either talk about them or simply admit that it's not something you care about because you really, really, really want Shaw.

Actually I'm desperate to believe he can because we're looking to punt £30 million on him. I actually want players who play for this club to do well, but I'm not going to be convinced by a few diagrams from the esteemed writer Amlan Majumdar (FYI that's the name of the guy whose blog you linked to). No. Each of those players has more urgency about their play and a lot more bite to their game. Alonso was a bit of a dirty cunt at times and could put in a tackle. Modric is a zippy little barstard who was MOTM for me in the CL final because he really sped up the play and moved that ball around quickly, something I don't think Fabregas does consistently. Koke seems to have that strength and tenacity about him too. It's the lack of physicality that worries me both with the ball, and when he'll be asked to harry that opposition (because contrary to popular belief even flat-track teams will attack occasionally). I hope I'm wrong, because it's a lot of money to gamble on a player but he just doesn't fit the mould of players we've bought in the last year, or the type of player we try and mould in the Academy. Out of every player we've had here in the last two years, the closest in style to Fabregas would be either Mata or De Bruyne.

Those 'reported' wages are no different from the 'reported' fee so why don't we call everything into question? Heck, he might only cost £5 to buy and want to be paid in hugs....we should definitely buy him. Truth is we're basing all our arguments on 'reported' numbers. Let's just pretend they're real - how exactly does paying him £100k p/w fit in with our wage structure? How is it justifiable when we're looking at getting a proven left-back (not 'proven', but proven) for about £5 million less in fees and £20k pw less in wages (which fits into our reported wage structure perfectly)? As for the cop out on the academy, the club do want to produce their own players so with that in mind they're actually looking to the future and buying a quality player in the meantime.

So you're thinking long-term by paying £10 million per year on an 18 year old left-back who is 'proven' at the 'highest level'? Thinking long-term isn't just about buying whichever 18 year old is doing well for about 50 games. It's about looking long-term at Academy prospects and how your future spending will be affected by purchases now. Plus people can become too enamoured with looking at ten years down the line without realising that 2-3 years is pretty long-term as well. Think at where you'll be in that time. Think where young prospects who are also homegrown and practically free might be. How exactly do you justify to the rest of the squad that an 18 year old who has done fuck all compared to players like Cahill, Azpi, Ivanovic and Cech is earning more? There is a human element to footballers and that does need to be addressed.

I like how some people are so desperate to believe that he can operate in the pivot that they'll selectively link to blogs by any random person rather than construct an argument themselves. I truly hope that if we sign him that he shows he can do a job there, but there are at least a dozen players I'd rather see in that role. To me he's always looked a bit too ponderous on the ball, a little too weak defensively, he doesn't have the bite or the fight that Jose likes in that position and I think he's only coming here because no-one else really wants him and he fancies living in London. If we're buying him as a number 10 and looking to move Oscar back then I could understand it. But to me players like Pogba, Koke, Modric, Alonso etc. are the types of player Jose probably wants. Fabregas is the type of player Chelsea teams tend to steamroll over, not scrape off the floor and buy.

Can't be asked to count all the homegrown implications for this but I love the guy as second-choice and with Hilario gone he's even a good shout for third-choice. Of course it could also mean that one of Courtois or Cech isn't going to be around either going into the season, or perhaps just for some of the season (a January transfer for whichever one we're not using??).

It's just one person's opinion, but I did find myself in agreement with a lot of his comments. The pivot isn't just about picking a pass and being creative. It requires tracking back, pressing to regain possession (a massive part of our game) and breaking with speed. If I were to pick 10 midfielders for that role I doubt I'd pick Fabregas. In fact would anyone put him in their top 20 midfielders if they could have their pick of anyone? Or is it simply because he's available that people want him? Yes we're desperate for a midfielder and Fabregas is available, he is relatively good value, he is homegrown and signing him would piss off Arsenal fans. But does that mean that he's right for the old kicking a football round a field for us business?

Good point....but £100k p/w wages for an 18 year old? Those are the figures being reported and that's more than some of our most important players earn. It's unearned and unjustified. Should other players have pay-raises in accordance with this wage, or should they just be told that because Shaw is English he can ask for more and we'll pay it? As for us being the new Arsenal....no.

Against West Ham we created 39 chances. The problem was the lack of a clinical striker to actually finish them. And how on Earth is it easier to blame the strikers rather than the midfield?? I really do hope you're right but I've never been truly convinced by him. Maybe Jose thinks he can utilise him the way he used Alonso alongside Khedira, but I honestly think Alonso is a far more complete player especially defensively. He's got a lot more bite and zip to his game. Granted Fabregas was being used by Wenger as a de facto number 10 in his last couple of seasons, so I hope he shows he can do that. But this will be a system unlike Arsenal, Barcelona or Spain's so there's no guarantees he'll thrive. Fingers crossed.

And Jose put the blame for those performances at the feet of the strikers, and rightly so. Costa looks very much like a Jose signing. Matic looks very much like a Jose signing. Fabregas looks like a Roman signing. Fabregas....Rakitic....those aren't Jose players. He likes players with power about them, someone like Pogba or even Koke who has shown that he can be disciplined defensively as well as picking a pass. Jose is the guy who sold Mata and went with Oscar because Oscar edged Mata in terms of defensive discipline. If this story was about United signing Fabregas then people would be saying he wouldn't fit Van Gaal's style....but he's going to fit Jose's? I have serious doubts.

And that's the problem - the reason Jose always beats Wenger is because he doesn't give his team time and space. He hustles them, he starves them of space and they collapse. Look at the 6-0 win. Now which team does Fabregas fit perfectly into?

Modric has always had that snappiness. He was more like Oscar who can show some pace and hit some balls with some power. Half the time when I watch Fabregas he seems to be jogging and he also looks like he underhits a lot of passes. Maybe it's just his style, but I always think that when we play against Fabregas that he's easily unsettled by someone like Matic or Essien. I've said it before that he's the archetypal Wenger player....and we've always been able to smash those types of cunts.

Honestly I've never really rated the guy. Always thought he lacked a bit of drive and urgency in possession, the type of player that our midfielders (Lamps, Essien, Ballack, Ramires, Matic) would simply out-hustle and push off the ball. To me he's the archetypal Arsenal bottle-job. Not at all surprised Van Gaal doesn't want him, and still surprised that we do.

€75 million isn't enough for starters. Secondly, he's shown no indication that he wants to leave. Bizarre conversation.

He also deserves credit for pushing himself even harder after Roman bought the club. He was by no means untouchable, but he simply made it so that even though we could buy any player on the planet we didn't need to replace him. He's not the most technically gifted player I've ever seen (probably Zola, maybe Hazard), not the fastest (Terry Phelan still probably, although his hamstrings couldn't take it) and probably not the most elegant player (Neil Shipperley easily ....closely followed by Ballack who was just the most graceful player I've seen) but no-one I've seen from any club could time a run into the box like him. If Makelele defined the DM position for a generation, then surely Frank perfected the late-arriving, goalscoring midfielder role.