Chelsea transfer news: West Ham 'want' Cesc Fabregas in January loan as Antonio Conte eyes replacements

Fabregas is out of favour at Stamford Bridge and looks to be heading for a January exit

Cesc Fabregas could be offered a way out of Chelsea with West Ham interested in a loan deal (Getty)

Cesc Fabregas could be offered a way out of Chelsea in January after London rivals West Ham expressed an interest in signing the midfielder on loan when the Premier League transfer window reopens.

Fabregas is out of favour under Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and has also struggled with injury this season, with his last appearance coming in the 3-0 defeat by his former club Arsenal. The 29-year-old was hauled off short of the hour on that occasion, and the loss at the Emirates is not only Chelsea’s last defeat, but also the last time they conceded.

The run of form Chelsea have shown since Fabregas was left out of the side and Conte switched his formation to a 3-4-3 has convinced the Spaniard to leave Stamford Bridge in an effort to play more regular first-team football, and The Mirror reports that West Ham are ready to continue their audacious approach in the transfer market to try and bring Fabregas to the London Stadium.

Chelsea are ready to subsidise Fabregas’s wages in order to offload in temporarily in January, with a permanent departure expected to happen come the end of the season. This decision should help West Ham in any negotiations given that Fabregas remains the third-highest paid Chelsea player on £160,000-a-week behind Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

Fabregas could find himself a replacement for West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, with the midfielder hinting on Monday that he could seek a January transfer away from the club less than a season after signing a new contract with the club.

The Spain international is unlikely to be the only departure in January as Conte looks to adjust his squad to his liking, with both Jon Obi Mikel and Branislav Ivanovic also expected to leave after dropping down the pecking order under the Italian. Mikel looks unlikely to see first-team action due to the form of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic, while Conte’s move to a three-man defence has seen Ivanovic drop out of the side along with John Terry as Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta are preferred.

Chelsea will soon be able to call on defender Kurt Zouma as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury suffered last season, but Conte is said to be pursuing Sevilla defender Steven N’Zonzi regardless, although the Frenchman has played down any rumours linking him with a move away from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

Conte is also being linked with Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, a former Arsenal transfer target until he elected to move to Italy. The 27-year-olf defensive midfielder is currently out of the starting line-up and, with Inter struggling in Serie A and facing financial uncertainty, he is said to want an exit in January.