Atletico Madrid want to offer Cesc Fabregas a route back to Spain when his Chelsea contract expires at the end of the season, claims The Daily Mirror.
Fabregas has dropped down the pecking order under new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri following the summer arrivals of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
The 31-year-old has entered the final season of his current Chelsea deal and will be free to discuss a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January.
Italian giants AC Milan have long been linked with a move for the Spanish midfielder but now Atletico are understood to have entered the race for his signature.
Fabregas has already given glowing feedback on Sarri’s start to life at Chelsea but it remains to be seen whether the club will offer the midfielder an extension.
Chelsea have relaxed their policy of new contracts to players the wrong side of 30 in the last 12 months but Fabregas is no longer deemed first choice and may have to leave next summer.
Fabregas has been unavailable for most of the season through injury and is still waiting to make his first Premier League appearance under Sarri.
The former Barcelona midfielder’s only minutes so far this season have come in two Europa League appearances and a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the League Cup last month.
Since signing for Chelsea in 2014, Fabregas has registered at least 17 more assists than any other team-mate in the Premier League (41).
