When I wrote about Como's return to Italy's top flight at the start of this season, I argued they had a good chance of staying up, but it would be dependent on their experienced star signings delivering.
At that point, players such as Raphael Varane, Andrea Belotti, Patrick Cutrone, Alberto Moreno, and Pepe Reina looked set to be big-name players with a crucial job - helping secure survival in one of Europe's toughest leagues.
I got that part wrong, but I don't think even Fabregas knew then that he would come to rely on youth for Como's Serie A safety.
As of last weekend, Como are officially safe from relegation after four consecutive wins elevated them to 11th in the league. They are now looking up rather than down, with a chance of finishing the season in 10th, which would be an incredible achievement for a newly promoted side.
This team is more than just Serie A survivalists.
However, the story of this successful return to Serie A has not always been so smooth, and it needs telling from the start.
Como's challenging start to Serie A life
After failing to win any of their first four Serie A games, Fabregas quickly found out the scale of the challenge ahead. As is the case in most of Europe, the step up from the second division to the first is like night and day.
If you aren't ready for the jump, then you will fall back down - promotion to the top division can be unforgiving.
Losing a player of Varane's experience so early in the season was an added challenge for Fabregas as the former Real Madrid and Manchester United defender decided to retire after sustaining a season-long injury.
It quickly became clear that survival was the aim.
The positive for Fabregas was that despite only winning two Serie A games by mid-December, his side rarely lost by a big margin and accumulated six draws in that time. The negative was that they needed to start winning games soon if they wanted to stay up, and it wasn't obvious where the goals were coming from to do that.
Cutrone had begun the season as the starting striker, and five goals from his first eight games were promising (even if Como had only won one of the games in which he had scored). However, as Como struggled to find form, so did Cutrone, and the goals dried up.
Aside from one mini purple patch at the turn of the year, Cutrone's start to the season would prove to be a false dawn, so much so that Fabregas has left him on the bench for three of the last four games.
Cutrone's story is a familiar one for the bigger-name players in Como's squad who (for different reasons) have fallen out of favour at different stages of the season.
Despite a lot of money being spent, Fabregas had good reason to be unhappy with the state of his squad by the January transfer window, as some high-profile summer signings were proving to be past their best.
With Belotti loaned out to Benfica until the summer, Varane retiring, and Moreno, Cutrone and Reina all struggling for form, January signings were needed to freshen up an underperforming and ageing squad.
Fabregas spends big in January
Despite back-to-back home wins at the end of 2024, Como were in a relegation scrap come the new year and needed something to change in the second half of the season.
Concerned about the club's situation, Fabregas (who has admitted to being central to Como's transfer strategy) turned to the January transfer window. Como splashed the cash to bring midfielder Maxence Caqueret from Lyon for a club record fee, winger Assane Diao from Real Betis and striker Anastasios Douvikas from Celta Vigo.
Those were the three most expensive signings, but Fabregas also brought in four more players on permanent transfers and two more on loan in an extremely productive transfer window.
Those signings would prove to change the direction of Como's season for the better.
Amongst the key successes have been Carqueret and full-back Alex Valle, who signed on loan from Barcelona.
Carqueret has quickly become a regular starter in Fabregas' midfield and has produced three assists already, living up to the €15m price tag. Valle, meanwhile, has impressed Fabregas, and according to Fabrizio Romano, the Spaniard plans to trigger Valle's release clause to sign him permanently in the summer.
No other January signing has come close to the impact made by Diao, however. The Senegalese winger has been a revelation for Como, having struggled to get consistent game time at Real Betis.
In 16 Serie A appearances, Diao has scored eight and assisted one in a dream start to life in Italy.
The 19-year-old is particularly dangerous on the counterattack with his blistering pace, exquisite ball control and composure beyond his years in front of goal.
Diao has also formed an impressive understanding with Argentine sensation Nico Paz, as the two teenagers have taken Serie A by storm.
This can be highlighted by Como's recent 3-0 win at Lecce when Paz threaded an inch-perfect pass for Diao, who timed his run before effortlessly scoring with a side-foot finish. Diao would add his second and Como's third in stoppage time with an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box to cap the perfect afternoon.
The one other notable incoming was the signing of free agent Dele Alli on an 18-month contract. The England international's only appearance so far was a disastrous cameo, which ended with Alli being sent off after less than 10 minutes into his first professional match for two years.
Although despite the slow start, if Premier League legend Fabregas can be the man to resurrect a career that at one point seemed destined for greatness, then it will prove to be a stroke of genius and a gamble that paid off.
Before January, there had already been signs of players getting to grips with Fabregas' tactical approach, which is built upon a solid defensive structure and controlled build-up play focused on playing through the middle of the pitch.
The January signings have only elevated the effectiveness of his system, with Diao being the perfect attacking threat for Fabregas with his darting runs through the middle.
The result has seen Como move clear of the relegation zone and up to 11th in the league after an impressive second half of the season. With safety confirmed, Fabregas can turn his attention to an exciting future.
The future looks bright
After an extremely encouraging return to Serie A, which has seen Como pull off wins against Italian giants Roma, Fiorentina, and Napoli on their way to securing safety, there is good reason to be optimistic about next season.
And although keeping hold of emerging stars Diao and Paz will be no easy task, Como, unlike many Serie A sides, are supported by a level of financial muscle that affords them the luxury of turning down significant sums of money.
Either way, the club have showcased with recent signings that they have excellent talent ID, so you would expect them to replace any unwanted departures wisely.
With Fabregas set to stay at Como despite interest from some big clubs in Italy and abroad, the young coach can build on this season in the 2025/26 campaign.
Unlike this season, Como will be ready and aware of what to expect from the start of the 2025/26 season.
Therefore, if Fabregas can continue to build a team with the right balance of youth, hunger and experience, then good things will continue to happen.
Whatever plays out, Como fans - who waited over two decades to watch their side back in the top division of Italian football - can enjoy at least one more season of their club playing against some of the best players in the world.
And more than anyone else, they have Fabregas to thank for that - the Spanish mastermind is showing signs that he could become as good a coach as he was a player.
If he reaches even close to the heights of his playing days, he will become one of the best coaches in the world. And although it seems unlikely that Como will still have Fabregas for his prime coaching years, they look set to enjoy his football for another season at least.
Whatever happens in the long term, Fabregas will always be the man who gave Como something to believe in again after helping to forge them a pathway with exciting possibilities.