When former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard made the announcement that he was leaving the Blues at the end of that campaign, the club's fans and his then-manager José Mourinho were all left devastated because of how much of an important player he was and the legendary status he built for himself. Lampard left Chelsea as the club's highest goalscorer and it was an incredible feat given that he played as a midfielder.

Not only did Mourinho have to mourn the loss of one of his very best and favorite players, but he also had the huge task of looking for a direct replacement for the midfield maestro. The former England international midfielder was always going to be a hard man to replace because it is always hard to find players who have every ingredient to be a top star, use those ingredients to their full stretch, and also have their head set solely at their club. Lampard had all of these traits and he was always going to be a big miss.

So, Mourinho had two major options he had to choose from in terms of replacing Lampard; Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. Both midfield superstars who earlier played for Arsenal in their careers were somewhat credible candidates for the void left by Lampard at Chelsea, but even though Mourinho remained adamant that he wanted one of both, many thought it was going to be a mistake signing one of the players that have played for their direct rivals Arsenal.

Mourinho eventually went after Fabregas who was at the time a Barcelona player and it ended up being a great choice. The Spanish midfielder was pivotal as Chelsea drove past the remaining 19 teams in the Premier League to clinch the league title.