Morata must make instant impact to fill Costa void, says Fabregas

LONDON: Chelsea’s record signing Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi will need to make an immediate impact in the upcoming season to fill the void left by striker Diego Costa, midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said.

Morata arrived at Stamford Bridge last week for a reported fee of around £ 70mil ( RM390mil) from Real Madrid. He will replace Chelsea’s first- choice forward Diego Costa, who has been told he will not feature in the club’s plans next season.

With Chelsea returning to the Champions League, Batshuayi is also expected to shoulder Chelsea’s goalscoring burden after starting only seven games in all competitions last season.

“They are two young strikers who will have to improve as quick as possible because they are our main strikers,” Fabregas told reporters.

“When you are the main striker for Chelsea you need to fight for all the competitions and if you are going to fight for all competitions you need your strikers to score lots of goals.”

“He (Morata) has a lot of potential, the same as Michy to improve. It’s up to them how far they want to go.”

Fabregas believes the entire squad will get more chances to prove themselves next season, with manager Antonio Conte’s side hoping to challenge on domestic and European fronts.

“Last season, because of the schedule with no Champions League and we went out early in the League Cup, we were all fit for most of the season, the manager didn’t have to make a lot of changes,” Fabregas added.

“The manager has said himself it is a long season ahead with lots of games ... I’m sure we will have more opportunities ahead of us.”

Champions Chelsea will host Burnley in the opening game of their league campaign on Aug 12. Meanwhile, Conte plans on using Fabregas in the No. 10 role next season.

The Chelsea boss believes the Spain star can play alongside N’Golo Kante in midfield or further up the pitch. With a return to the Champions League, Conte is assessing his options and reckons Fabregas can support a lone striker like Eden Hazard.

Conte said: “He is a really good player who can play in this posi- tion in midfield but also he could play No. 10.”

Fabregas, 30, has been linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge when he spent time on the bench – but he now looks firmly in Conte’s plans.

Last season he forced his way back and got Premier League starts after starting the season only playing in the Cup competitions.

Conte said: “For sure, he is a great example to other players with his commitment and his behaviour every day during training sessions.

“He must continue this way because he is working well for us.

“In the second part of last season, Cesc played a lot of games and he was an important player for us to reach our target of winning the league and also to reach the final of the FA Cup.

“He is a really good player and has worked really hard. I think Cesc has improved a lot from when I arrived at Chelsea, from his start and up to now, he has improved a lot.”

Fabregas said he is ready to compete with new £40mil (RM223mil) signing Tiemoue Bakayoko for a starting place.

He said: “I have been competing for 15 seasons. That will not put me down after what happened last season and how I stood up to it.

“I’m ready for anybody. I feel great. I understand the philosophy of the manager very, very well.

“I know what he wants from me. I know what I need to give to the team.

“I just try to keep improving for as long as I can.” — Agencies