Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho admits he's surprised Barcelona were prepared to sell Cesc Fabregas over the summer.
The midfielder has six assists in his first four Chelsea games.
Fabregas is having the impact Mourinho hoped, having recruited the former Arsenal captain despite the Gunners reportedly having first option if Barcelona were to sell.
"The surprise for me was not that he didn't go to Arsenal, the surprise for me was that he was leaving," Mourinho said.
"I thought he was going to stay at Barcelona. I was looking at him as the natural successor of this generation of players of Barcelona, like Xavi.
"We had other faces in mind, other players on standby, in case we couldn't get him. We went without fear. We went trying to get him. It's possible, it's possible. It's not possible, we move on.
"One of the reasons he's so important for us is exactly because he can play in any position in midfield.
"Even in Barcelona he was playing as a nine, their style of nine. Sometimes he was playing from the left wing too.
"He can play in many positions. It depends what you want from the game. What is your plan? Where do you think he can have more influence in the game?"
