Eden Hazard has told former teammate Cesc Fabregas that “it is time for him to go back to Chelsea” as he “dreams” of watching the Spaniard coach the Blues from the touchline.

Fabregas was gently linked with a return to Chelsea, with whom he won two Premier League titles as a player, as a replacement for Enzo Maresca when the Italian was given his marching orders by BlueCo last month.

The Spaniard has caught the attention of several European giants after guiding Como to tenth in Serie A last term after their promotion to the top flight, and with them currently sitting sixth, vying for European football next season.

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The Blues bosses decided to appoint Liam Rosenior after he had impressed managing sister club Strasbourg over Fabregas and alternative options, but Hazard is desperate to see his old pal back at Stamford Bridge.

“I’ll be honest. In the summer we talked a little,” Hazard told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I told him that he was one of the best midfielders in history and that he is destined to become one of the best coaches as well.

“I explained to him that it was time for him to go back to Chelsea and he joked about it, but I really think so. He loves soccer, he knows everything about this sport.

“I’m a Chelsea fan and I wish the best for the club: for this dream of seeing Cesc on the bench, while I’m in the stands, behind him, enjoying the show”.

Asked which Serie A player he would like Fabregas to sign if he was to replace Rosenior at Chelsea, Hazard added: “My kids are crazy about [Kenan] Yildiz, they watch a lot of videos with his plays and hope to see him in the Premier League. To me, on the other hand, he looks like a guy from Real Madrid…”.

Fabregas has recently been linked with a move to the Premier League, but to Manchester City, where there are growing doubts over Pep Guardiola’s future.

The Spaniard’s contract runs until the summer of 2027, but ‘there is a growing sense?among City’s rivals and within Premier League circles that Guardiola will leave after 10 years in charge’.

City sources are said to have dismissed suggestions that the club have started to plan for his possible departure as “pure speculation”, but that speculation has indeed ramped up in recent weeks,?particularly after Maresca told Chelsea that he had spoken to Citybefore being sacked by Chelsea last month.

Maresca – who worked as Guardiola’s assistant at City – is said to be on the shortlist to be the next permanent City manager, along with Xabi Alonso and Fabregas.

Alonso – who was sacked by Real Madrid in January – is ‘a coach City will carefully consider despite his association to rivals Liverpool’, who may also be on the lookout for a new manager with Arne Slot still under huge pressure at Anfield despite winning the Premier League title last season.

And Fabregas is the third option on City’s shortlist, and amid claims he would ‘only leave the Italian club for one of the biggest jobs in the Premier League or Europe’ they come no bigger than replacing Guardiola at the Etihad.