Antonio Conte’s Chelsea are currently steamrollering their way to the Premier League title. At the time of writing this article, the Blues sit 10 points clear at the top of the table with only 12 games left until the end of the season and barring any late miracles are destined to win their 6th English top division title.
However, despite being in scintillating form following the early season hiccups, Conte will be looking to trim down the Blues squad and tailor it to his liking for the upcoming season – where the Stamford Bridge outfit will also be competing in the UEFA Champions League.
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With that in mind, we take a look at the 5 Chelsea stars who could face the axe in the summer:
#1 Asmir Begovic
The former Stoke City shot-stopper was linked with a move away from the club in the winter transfer window with Bournemouth the front-runners to secure his services. However, the Blues failed to find a replacement for the 29-year-old and thus his transfer didn’t materialize.
Begovic has featured only 6 times for the Blues this season – in the EFL Cup and the FA Cup – which is hardly the playing time any top-level goalkeeper in his prime would settle for. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international is an excellent shot-stopper and would easily be the first-choice at a mid-table Premier League club.
Unless Thibaut Courtois suffers a tragic injury sidelining him for a long time, or if he moves to any other European giant – which is highly unlikely – Begovic’s time at the Stamford Bridge is up and he will move in the summer.
#2 John Terry
Captain. Leader. Legend. The famous Stamford Bridge banner for the English veteran has been a feature of Chelsea’s home games for a while now. But how long will the 36-year-old be able to handle the rigors of the Premier League?
Terry has made only 11 appearances for the Blues in all competitions this season, partly due to a series of injuries that has plagued him so far this season but mostly due to Antonio Conte opting to field a back three of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta.
The writing is on the wall, Conte doesn’t fancy Terry in his starting line-up and that is one of the main reasons why Terry has played only 6 minutes of league football since mid-September. Unless Terry decides to call it a day at the end of the season, it is highly likely that he will move in the summer to a club with a lucrative retirement deal – cue China?
#3 Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Chelsea have a unique love-hate relationship with their academy products/youngsters. They have had – without a shadow of doubt – some of Europe’s most promising youngsters come through their ranks, only to be loaned or sold to a smaller club. It was the same with Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne, with only one of the three still at the club.
However, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is different, he has never been sent out on loan as big things were expected of him and as he helped fulfill the home-grown quota. But with only 15 minutes of league football under his belt so far this season, it is clear that Conte doesn’t fancy the young English midfielder as the Italian is not someone who would hesitate to give a lesser known player the chance, should he merit it. Victor Moses, anyone?
It is in the best interest of the 21-year-old to look for a move away from the club or risk stagnating his career at Stamford Bridge.
#4 Michy Batshuayi
Batshuayi arrived from Marseille in the summer for £33.2m but has failed to establish himself in the Stamford Bridge outfit’s starting line-up. Not only that, it is evident that Conte doesn’t rate the Belgian as the 23-year-old didn’t get the chance to lead the Chelsea attack in the absence of Diego Costa, Conte instead opted to start with Hazard up top.
While the record books may reflect that Batshuayi has featured for the Premier League title favourites on 21 occasions, having scored 5 goals, in reality, he has only been afforded 497 minutes of football – which is meager for a top level footballer even in a team like Chelsea.
Conte will look to offload the Belgian in the summer to free up funds for the players he needs who will fit into his system and help him challenge on all fronts.
#5 Kurt Zouma
One might argue that Kurt Zouma doesn’t merit a place on this list, having recently recovered from a cruciate ligament injury. However, a closer inspection at his involvement reveals that it is actually a completely different story.
Zouma had completed 90 minutes in 20 of the 23 appearances he made for Chelsea in the league last season before he succumbed to the injury. The French international returned to fitness towards the end of October last year, and featured for the Under-23s in 4 games from October until the end of November.
Since then, he has been afforded only 7 minutes of league football coupled with three FA Cup appearances – wherein he played the entire 90 minutes. Which clearly indicates that his lack of playing time is not due to him being short of match fitness but due to Conte’s decision not to play him.
Zouma arrived at Chelsea from Saint-Etienne in 2011 but 6 years later his Stamford Bridge dreams look to be over.
