Chelsea Set to Hijack Arsenal and Manchester United's Move for Cesc Fabregas

Chelsea have joined Arsenal and Manchester United in the race to sign Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, according to the Metro.

Jose Mourinho is looking to add a creative midfielder into his squad after selling Juan Mata to United last January.

The former Real Madrid man went trophyless on his return to Stamford Bridge but is looking to remedy that with some major transfer business in the summer.

The Blues have already sold David Luiz for a record fee to Paris Saint-Germain and are looking to utilise that money to fund players.

Fabregas is being actively scouted by United, who had three bids rejected for the player last summer and want to make sure that they can sign the former Arsenal man in the upcoming window.

Louis van Gaal is looking to completely rebuild the squad from scratch and Fabregas has been earmarked as a prime target to provide the creative spark which has been missing in the recently concluded season.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are also planning to exercise their buy-back clause should the player be allowed to leave. The midfielder was made the captain of the Arsenal team before making his way out of the club in 2011 to join Barcelona.

However, with the club now willing to let him go, Arsene Wenger is willing to bring him back to the Emirate and link up with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla.

The Gunners have other concerns across the pitch with a striker on top of their wanted list, followed by a defensive midfielder to play alongside the likes of Ozil and Ramsey, who have been the architects of Arsenal's triumphant season.

Mourinho is unwilling to spend more than £25m on Fabregas with a lot of money expected to be spent on securing a striker. Atletico Madrid frontman Diego Costa has emerged as the prime target but Mourinho is looking at other options before making an official move.