Former player Cesc Fabregas is "free to go" to Chelsea, Como president Mirwan Suwarso has confirmed. The Spanish World Cup winner played for the London side in his prime and is heavily linked to rejoining them in a new role.
The former Premier League side has been struggling to find its feet this season, and Fabregas is reportedly a frontrunner to replace the sacked Liam Rosenior. Under Fabregas, Como have done incredibly well—sitting fifth. With five rounds to go, two back-to-back defeats have seen them falling five points behind Juventus, thus risking a UEFA Champions League slot. However, 16 wins, 10 draws, and 7 defeats are still remarkable for the club, which has done better than Italian powerhouses like AS Roma, Lazio, and Atalanta.
If Fabregas wants the Chelsea challenge at 38, the Como hierarchy will not stand in his way. Mirwan Suwarso said his board "do not own" Fabregas, who is also a minority shareholder of the club, and are prepared to accept having to look for another gaffer. "You want your employees to stay with you for as long as possible, but at the end of the day, we don't own him and he's free to go to Chelsea if he wishes," the club president reportedly said.
As long as they are not losing him to a Serie A rival, he cannot complain, and the club will only be happy to see him pursue bigger dreams, Goal.com reported Suwarso as telling a local media outlet.
Cesc Fabregas won two Premier League titles as a player. The former Monaco gaffer managed to lead Como to promotion, and his player Nico Paz is the second-most successful goalscorer in the Italian top tier despite not being a striker. The Italian Football Federation had awarded him the Bearzot Award as the country’s Coach of the Year for his genius, Goal.com added.
Calum McFarlane, who briefly served as Chelsea's interim coach in January when Enzo Maresca left the role, was reappointed to the position for the second time after the club sacked Liam Rosenior on Wednesday amid a five-match losing streak in the Premier League.