Cesc Fabregas Can Fill Frank Lampard Void at Chelsea – John Terry

Chelsea captain John Terry is confident Cesc Fabregas can fill the void left by Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard has departed west London after 13 years at the club, with a move to the MLS in the offing this summer after the expiration of his contract.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have been among the busiest teams in the summer transfer window, making three significant additions including that of ex-Arsenal skipper Fabregas, who has joined from Barcelona for a fee thought to be in the region of £30m.

And though Terry, who was offered a new deal at Stamford Bridge while Lampard and Ashley Cole were discarded following infrequent appearances last season, is disappointed the pair have departed he is confident in Fabregas' abilities.

"He's a very good signing," Terry told the club's official magazine. "He is great on the ball, a great box-to-box player, he scores an awful lot of goals as well and he has got an aggressive streak in him too – I certainly remember that from his Arsenal days.

"I'm sure he is going to fit in really well at Chelsea and do well in the years to come."

"It feels different coming in and Lamps not being sat next to me," he added.

"We have sat next to each other in the changing room since he signed for the club really. I've become really close to Lamps and Ash and they were my two best mates at the club.

"So I'm really sad to see arguably the best player the club has ever had, in Lamps, move on, for what he brought to the dressing room and as a mate.

"You understand that you all get older, but you just hope that point doesn't come."

Fabregas has been joined by Diego Costa and Felipe Luis this summer as Chelsea continue to build ahead of the new campaign.

With Thibaut Courtois set to be the No.1 at Chelsea after three years on loan at Atletico Madrid, Jose Mourinho will have a formidable squad at his disposal next term and Terry is confident of fighting on all fronts.

"I think we should be very competitive," he said. "We were close last year, but just unlucky at times.

"With the signings we have made and a couple of younger players who I think will surprise a few people this year, I think this should be a very good year.

"We want to win trophies – that is always the aim from the outset for me.

"I can see a lot more teams in the mix. First and foremost, though, we need to be solid, both home and away, because I think we dropped too many points against teams we shouldn't have [last season]."