The only place to be

Can't emphasise just how much my admiration of him stretches beyond simply his football ability. His dedication to his fitness was exemplary and something every young player should strive to emulate. His class on the pitch is also an example every player coming through the ranks should look to embody. Off the pitch he's always been a top bloke too. Met him a few times in different situations and he's been nothing but welcoming and kind. Was especially good with my younger sister when I introduced her at a charity function. He was the first player I think she truly got interested in football through and he couldn't have been sweeter when I explained that. He seemed a bit embarrassed but took some time to chat with her when he really didn't have to. Probably doesn't get mentioned much but he's got to be one of the best transfers in the history of the Premier League. The level of consistency he reached was remarkable, as was his ability to stay fit (another testament to his impeccable preparation on the training pitch which put those moronic 'Fat Frank' comments from those Hammers cunts into perspective). A fantastic ambassador for this club and for this league. Wish him the best this summer too.

Why bother responding to a guy comparing an out and out attacking midfielder to players we're looking to play in midfield?

Chalobah. If City lose Yaya they're fucked. If Liverpool lose Suarez they're fucked. It's the nature of sport. Still not convinced that Fabregas is sufficiently good defensively or has a high enough workrate, but if Jose thinks he does then I trust him.

This is just inevitable isn't it. Barca don't want him. Arsenal don't want him. City don't want him. Liverpool don't want him. United don't want him. Koke doesn't want us. Looking forward to the press conference when everyone has to pretend like this is a dream come true.

Oh jeez....why did you have to post that. The mental strength...the emotion....the guts.....that's one of the most amazing moments I've ever experienced in sport. Summed him up as both a player and a man.

Class player and class guy. Doubt this is the last of him we'll see at this club though.

I'm not saying that it wouldn't be funny watching Arsenal fans squirm and of course there's a little bit of hypocrisy in there but he's soooo Arsenal and Barcelona. He's homegrown, he's proven in this league, he's in his prime, he's available, he's probably what we need offensively although I think he's a bit of a softcock defensively....I need Jose to tell me he's the right guy before I believe this could happen. I still think he'll end up at City.

He probably embodies all that Wenger is more than anyone else. If you were to drain Wenger's nutsack entirely, and then stack it 5'10" high and stick a stupid face on it then it would probably look a lot like Fabregas.

I'd love to see a race between Romelu Lukaku and Harry Redknapp to see who could get to a reporter's microphone first. Harry can use his Range Rover of course.

I think I could name 3 young players whose Names begin with B whom we already own who could replace him. Let's see.... Boga Baker Bertrand (Traore) Yay me.

Ladyman at the Mail is saying City aren't in for him as is Jackson at the Guardian. Ben Smith at the BBC is saying Liverpool aren't in for him. The Times are apparently saying United aren't and The Telegraph are saying Arsenal aren't. Basically every club that could buy him has been ruled out by at least one source....except Chelsea, who have been reported in El Confidential as having agreed terms. Fuck it. He might as well have Luiz's old shirt then. Nat can have 8 and I'm a happy puppy.

Not sure why there's discussion about this still. He didn't fancy his chances at a top European club so he asked to leave and went to a mid-tier Bundesliga team where he'd get plenty of football. Good for him doing well for Belgium too but he asked to leave this club. Jose doesn't want players who don't want to be here and fight for a spot in a top club and I don't blame him. Using what happened with De Bruyne as a stick to bash Jose is a bit silly but unsurprising when you look at the comments.

Ashley went a long way to pissing Arsenal fans off before he joined us. I think that got a lot of grudging respect from Chelsea supporters because he essentially forced a transfer to us in a pretty underhanded way. Fabregas is only an option because Barcelona want to get shot of him. Does anyone actually think he's pushing for a move to Chelsea? Arsenal don't want him, Barca don't want him and he wants to live in London. It's a convenience thing if it goes through.

Impose? Now that's a bizarre term to use when I'm simply articulating my viewpoint to someone. Yes sport is about technical skill and athletic prowess, but supporting a particular club fervently overtakes that sometimes. Occasionally you'll see supporters applaud a piece of skill by the opposition but that's a rare occurrence. Fabregas is a technically proficient player and he may well improve us as a team BUT he's also a human being and many supporters will have an opinion about him as a person. No, but people are expressing reservations about the impact of inviting someone like him into the Chelsea family because that's what this (and any) football club is. It's a series of human connections - you're presenting it as nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet. Player A adds +3 value to Football Club A ergo Football Club A should sign Player A from Football Club B. It doesn't work like that. Drogba and Lamps weren't hated by other fans and Terry and Cole were very well respected by the majority of decent football supporters. How about people accept that a lot of Chelsea supporters really don't like Fabregas, really aren't all that excited by the prospect of buying him but that they'd probably give him a chance to show some fight in this shirt first??

What is the point in this stupid little game then? It's ALL about emotional stuff unless you actually think that kicking a ball around a pitch has some greater social worth??

They aren't directly related but the timing of the two things connects them in people's minds.

Cahill Matic Van Ginkel Oscar Azpi Ivanovic PETR CECH A selection of the players whose reported wages would be lower than 18 year old Luke Shaw's reported wages. Now I'm sure some might use words like 'market' and stuff like that to try and justify it but if these reported figures are correct, these aren't market prices when there's so few suitors for him.

A 35 year old?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lampard Supporters form emotional attachments to players. Football is actually a pretty pointless exercise but it's the connections we make to the club, to the players that actually give it meaning. It's not just about points on a table. I'm not saying that Frank leaving wasn't the right move for both parties but signing Fabregas?? People are going to be reticent.

Such a cunt and not in the same way as Costa. Embodies everything I despise about both Arsenal and Barcelona which is an impressive achievement. He's Barcelona through and through with the dirty stink of Woolwich all over him. Perfect for City who love their Arsenal cast-offs but seeing him in our blue....unlikely.

He was still able to contribute last season and put in some fantastic performances (anyone saying he lost his legs should watch the Liverpool game) so it's a real shame if this is true because a player-coach role would've been fantastic. An absolute legend at this club though and if he does go into semi-retirement in the US then you have to wish him the best and respect the class with which he has one this. A major market and I'll follow whatever he does with genuine interest. Could go into coaching, could have a great media career or could just retire and enjoy his property portfolio (which is considerable). The club need to handle this properly though. He needs a proper send-off and the rumour of a match against Bolton is fitting. Needs a statue too....a fuck-off big one and all the shit that goes with that. But he's absolutely one of the greatest players I've ever seen and one of the best people to have played for this club. That penalty after his mother passed showed the mettle of the man and was one of the few moments that sport has brought me to tears. To do that, in that match....incredible. A truly great player and a true gentleman.

A good argument for signing Shaw, but then you say.... Isn't that the argument against signing Shaw for £30 million?

Lambert is mediocre perhaps, but he'll score goals and he'll create chances....for £4 million. The more I think about it, the more annoyingly good that transfer is. They'll get two years out of him and he'll score goals. I'd be more worried about them bringing him on against us than Aspas or Borini. Plus he's homegrown..... I honestly don't think you could get a better 3rd striker option in their situation. A very fine transfer move.

They've got Sturridge and Suarez....and Aspas. They've upgraded one area and they're going after Lovren too. Lallana adds a bit of depth to midfield as well. It's a nice few transfers, although I'm not expecting them to replicate this season's 'success'.

That Lambert signing could be a gamble that pays off. He's great with a dead ball, he doesn't miss penalties and he's a genuine aerial threat compared to Suarez and Sturridge. Look at how they failed to break us down when Plan A didn't work - he's a Plan B. Put it like this - if we go into the season with Costa and Lukaka, then I'd take him over Torres, Ba and Eto'o as third choice. Plus he's a Scouser so they're probably getting a hometown discount on the wages and if this fee is linked to the Lallana deal then it's a smart bit of business for Southampton too. Can't just look at the age with a player whose game has been about power, technique and strength in the air.

There seems to be a dearth of decent options. Apart from Coentrao who seems a bit of a long shot and probably expensive, the other options seem to be youngsters like Moreno, Shaw and Rodriguez none of whom is all that proven or cheap. It's not like we have an aversion to buying young players in that sweet spot of early-20s (Schurrle, Azpi, Hazard etc.) but there simply don't appear to be many out there. As it is we're probably getting the best one currently available. Sometimes it's too easy to get caught up in 'the future' (I'm probably as guilty of that as anyone) but two-three years is a long time. That's a lot of weekends, a lot of matches and a lot of matchday threads to post comments about how good Luis looks. If we get three years out of him then that's only 5 months less than we got out of David Luiz. It's a deceptively long period of time.