He needs to go - Sarri backs Fabregas exit

Maurizio Sarri believes Cesc Fabregas "needs to go" and secure a longer deal away from Chelsea.

Fabregas, whose contract expires at the end of the season, appeared to bid farewell to English football on Saturday, taking time to wave to the Stamford Bridge faithful following the Blues' FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest.

Monaco boss Thierry Henry - a former Arsenal team-mate of Fabregas - confirmed on Monday the Ligue 1 side are talking to the 31-year-old and Sarri thinks the midfielder should go elsewhere and seek a contract longer than the one year on offer from Chelsea.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final against Tottenham, Sarri said: "I can say only my opinion, I don't know the decision of the club. [And] in my opinion he needs to go.

"At this club there's a rule, the renewal of players over 30 is for one year. I don’t want a player as important as Cesc unhappy."

Sarri claimed to be in the dark over suggestions Fabregas was already in Monte Carlo, adding: "I don't know, yesterday he had a free day for the injury, so I don't know.

"If Cesc goes, we will of course need a replacement. With midfielders we are in trouble I think because of the situation of [the injured Ruben] Loftus-Cheek.

"If the situation is serious or not, without Cesc we have only five [midfielders]."

The boss on @cesc4official: "Since I left @Arsenal, we talk every two or three days and that hasn't changed in recent days. Cesc [Fàbregas] is a player who interests every club." - @ThierryHenry #ASMSRFC pic.twitter.com/ssA1u2GQiR

— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) January 7, 2019

Monaco certainly appear front-runners to sign Spain international Fabregas, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2014.

And Henry was doing little to quell the speculation when he spoke on Monday.

"Cesc can travel and have meetings with anyone," Henry told reporters.

"As you know, he had a standing ovation [in Chelsea's win over Forest] and there were some tears, because he gave so much to the Premier League.

"He's free. If we do it in July, we'll do it in July. It's true, though, that we are currently talking to him. We are waiting.

"We are talking about Cesc Fabregas, it seems that he'll leave Chelsea. But I guess that many teams would like to sign him.

"Since I left Arsenal, we talk every three days. That hasn't changed in the last few days."