Who will join Frank Lampard's Blues? Get our daily Chelsea newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The contrast in Chelsea's attacking play from this season to last could not be more marked. A team that often looked like they had a competition winner playing up front last term has become the most devastating side in the land.

To many, the change is thanks to the long-overdue recruitment of a world class centre-forward. But, as brilliantly as Diego Costa has started his career in England, it's this summer's other Spanish recruit who has made the biggest difference. Rarely, if ever, has one player single-handedly transformed a Premier League team's style of play in the way Cesc Fabregas has reinvented Chelsea.

What Chelsea were getting were getting was apparent: a top class midfielder with a ready-made knowledge of the Premier League and a schooling in the arts of tiki-taka. Jose Mourinho has revealed he always planned to use Fabregas in a slightly deeper role than many anticipated, allowing the Spaniard to conduct operations and dictate the pace of his team's play. Even by Special One standards, it has been a masterstroke.

Many thought that past animosities would see the former Arsenal captain struggle to settle under Mourinho, but quite the opposite is true. Fabregas is thriving - so much so that, when talking about Saturday's 2-0 win against West Brom, he said:

"I have never enjoyed a football match more than the first half today."

(Image: Getty)

Quite a statement from someone who played alongside Xavi, Iniesta and Messi at Barcelona. But Fabregas' stats from that game make it pretty obvious why he was enjoying himself so much.

Against West Brom. Fabregas recorded the most touches (174), the most final third passes (72) and the most successful passes in the final third (64) by any player in any Premier League game this season.

Pretty impressive in itself. But when you compare those numbers to the best EVER passing performances in Premier League history, it gives you a true reflection of just how well Fabregas is playing right now.

Opta stats in these categories go back to 2006. In that time, no-one has made more influential passes (i.e. those in the final third) than Fabregas did in the West Brom game:

Most successful final third passes in a Premier League game 64 CESC FABREGAS (Chelsea v W Brom, Nov 2014) 58 Paul Scholes (Man United v QPR, Apr 2012) 58 Yaya Toure (Man City v W Ham, May 2014) All PL games since 2006

It gets better. Take a look at the most touches made by a single player in any Premier League game (since records began).

Fabregas has only been playing for Chelsea for a little over three months - and he already has positions two and three on this list:

Most touches in a Premier League game 175 Yaya Toure (Man City v Stoke, Dec 2011) 174 CESC FABREGAS (Chelsea v W Brom, Nov 2014) 162 CESC FABREGAS (Chelsea v A Villa, Sep 2014) All PL games since 2006

Already it looks like we are talking about one of the most influential creative players in Premier League history.

And that's before we even take into account what he achieved in his time at Arsenal.

If you look at the most final third passes made in any Premier League game, Chelsea Cesc is first - and Arsenal Cesc is third:

Most final third passes in a Premier League game 72 CESC FABREGAS (Chelsea v W Brom, Nov 2014) 67 David Silva (Man City v Stoke, Feb 2014) 65 CESC FABREGAS (B'ham v Arsenal, Feb 2008) All PL games since 2006

Yes, Fabregas needs to win the title with Chelsea before he can really be written into the pantheon of Premier League greats, but that increasingly looks like a formality.

Right now, the stats suggest that in terms of creative influence on a top side, he's already at the top of the mountain.

poll loading Is Cesc Fabregas the best creative midfielder in Premier League history? 2000+ VOTES SO FAR YES NO

Cesc Fabregas - career in pics: