Fabregas joins Chelsea: Blues are joint title favourites after Cesc coup

Fabregas has joined Chelsea for around 30m

Jose Mourinho pulls off transfer coup as Chelsea sign ex-Arsenal midfielder from Barcelona. Betfair punters immediately install Blues as Premier League joint title favourites...  

Chelsea are 3.185/40 joint favourites, with Manchester City, to win the 2014/15 Premier League after it was announced that the West Londoners have signed Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona for around 30m. 

The capture of Fabregas, who is in Brazil preparing for Spain's opening World Cup match against Holland tonight, is a major piece of business for Blues boss Jose Mourinho. The manager, who endured a trophy-less first season back at Stamford Bridge, sees the Spaniard s a long term replacement for Frank Lampard.

Arsenal declined to exercise their buy-back option on Fabregas but Manchester United, who pursued the midfielder last summer, were expected to be his most likely Premier League destination. That changed once Louis Van Gaal, who will be in the Dutch dugout this evening, took over at Old Trafford and handed his employers a list of targets which didn't include Fabregas.

At 27, Fabregas has "unfinished business" in the Premier League. He broke in to the Arsenal team a decade ago and went on to captain the club. As he hails from Barcelona, though, and graduated through their youth ranks, he was always keen to play for the Catalan club. Fabregas left the Emirates for the Nou Camp in 2011 but his efforts to nail down a place in the team were thwarted by the evergreen excellence of Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta. New boss Luis Enrique deemed him surplus to requirements.      

It might be surprising that Arsenal decided not to re-sign Fabregas but Arsene Wenger's priorities lie elsewhere. Fabregas was keen to return but, having now opted to join their London rivals, it will interesting to see what reception he receives when he faces the Gunners next season. If by then he's orchestrating a Chelsea title challenge, more questions will be asked about Wenger's acuity in the transfer market.