Chelsea, Monaco Near Fabregas Deal  (Sky Sports)

Chelsea and Monaco are close to agreeing a deal for Cesc Fabregas to move to the Ligue 1 side, according to Sky sources.

The Spanish midfielder has struggled to break into Maurizio Sarri's starting XI this season, and has played just six times for the Blues in the Premier League.

The 31-year-old's Chelsea deal expires at the end of the season, and he is now understood to be close to a reunion with former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry.

The ex-Gunners forward is head coach at Monaco, but has a battle on his hands to keep the 2017 Ligue 1 champions in the division.

They are three points away from safety and lie 19th in the table after just three wins from 18 matches.

Fabregas' departure would be a blow for Chelsea head coach Sarri, who has previously expressed his desire for the player to remain at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "In this position we have only two players, Jorginho and Fabregas, so for me it would be really a problem without Cesc.

"I want him to stay, I don't know the final decision of Cesc and the club of course.

"But for me it's very important and if Cesc will go I think that we need to buy another player, and it's not easy because, technically, Cesc is a very important player.

"And I think that in the market it's very difficult to find a player with his characteristics."