Asked what Conte wants from him, Fabregas replied: “He speaks a lot. He spoke to me a few times as well. He wants the midfielders to be very complete. To be physically strong. We are training very hard for it.

“If you have to analyse me, maybe I’m a bit more the playmaker, creative going forward and he wants me to be a little bit more stable and compact in defence.

“For Matic, who is the opposite of me, he wants him to be better offensively. For Oscar, for Kante, he works with every aspect for us to be the best we can.

“I know what I can do. After 13 years I know myself very, very well. I am in a moment of my career where I feel very mature. I know physically what I can give. I know when I have to press and I choose much better my game overall. I just want to play and give my all and, hopefully, this will come soon.