Every time a new manager takes over a club, there will always be a few players who don’t suit his style of play and therefore get sold. The manager makes signings that supplement his plans and not all of them always work as expected.
A lot of times it so happens that those very players could be performing exceptionally well in the same league for rival teams, making the home fans question the manager’s decisions at a later time.
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In the case of Chelsea, the supporters regret the sale of a few players during Jose Mourinho’s reign, whom they very well could use right now, as the team is rebuilding under former Juventus and Italy manager Antonio Conte.
So, let’s take a look at 5 players sold by Mourinho who are currently performing at top level in the Premier League.
#5 Ryan Bertrand
Ryan Bertrand, the Southampton full-back was widely tipped to be Ashley Cole’s replacement at Chelsea.
He was sent out on nine loan spells with seven different clubs during his time at Chelsea and when he finally received his opportunity, he took it with both hands and performed well first under Roberto Di Matteo in the 2011-12 season and then under Rafa Benitez in the next season.
During this period, he became the first player to debut in European competitions in a Champions League final and further went on to make 38 appearances the following season en route to the Europa League win in 2013.
However, when Jose Mourinho came back in 2013 for a second spell at the Blues, the left-back’s development stalled as the Portuguese preferred Cesar Azpilicueta in the role. In order to secure game-time, Bertrand joined Southampton on loan in 2014 and made the move permanent with the Saints paying £10 million in 2015.
The 2014-15 season was a stellar one for Bertrand as he showed his solid defensive ability with a willingness to bomb forward, making him the best English left-back in the country and a spot in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
He also added to his two national caps received in 2012 after being recalled in 2015, and has been a regular member of the squad competing with the likes of Luke Shaw and Danny Rose for the starting spot.
Meanwhile, Mourinho signed Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid in 2014 for the left-back role and then sold him back the following summer. With Ivanovic’s performances fading, Azpilicueta is the natural choice at right-back.
However, the lack of a first-team option at left-back means he continues at left-back. This summer Conte signed Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina to solve the problem and the jury is still out on him.
#4 Petr Cech
Petr Cech was one of the core members of the Chelsea team during Mourinho’s first spell at the club from 2004 to 2007. He continued to be the first choice keeper when Mourinho came back for his second spell in 2013.
However, the recalling of Thibaut Courtois for the 2014-15 season after 3 outstanding seasons at Atletico Madrid on loan, which included winning the La Liga and reaching the Champions League final under Diego Simeone, signalled the beginning of the end for Cech.
Mourinho chose Courtois as the no.1 keeper for the season keeping in mind the long-term plans for the player and club as he is a decade younger than Cech. This resulted in Chelsea allowing Cech to leave the Blues, who opted to switch to London rivals Arsenal.
At that time, Chelsea had just won the Premier League and Courtois was at the top of his game, which meant that the decision was a good one for both the club and Cech. He went on to strengthen a problem position for Arsenal and also won the Golden Glove for a record fourth time.
However, coming to the present, Courtois’ progress looks to have stalled and Cech continues to remain one of the best keepers in the league albeit at Arsenal, making their London rivals blame their bad luck for their current plight.
#3 Juan Mata
Juan Mata was signed by Chelsea in August 2011 and had a flying start to his Blues career with a goal on debut. He took to the Premier League like a fish to water and went on to win the Chelsea Player of the Year award for two years running.
The return of the “Special One” in 2013 turned out to be not so special for Mata as Oscar was favoured over him in the central playmaker role. Further, Mata was asked by Mourinho to adapt to a wider role and put on more defensive work. This triggered a move to rivals Manchester United in January 2014 with first-team football hard to come by at Chelsea.
Mata was a hit at Manchester United and shone well in a struggling team under Louis van Gaal, before he was replaced by Jose Mourinho this summer, reuniting the manager-player pair. Initially, it looked like Mata would be sold owing to their previous differences, but Mata has so far been an important player this season with the team never having lost when he has played so far.
The replacements bought by Chelsea to play out wide in the form of Mohamed Salah and Juan Cuadrado have failed to materialize so far with both the players currently plying their trade in Italy.
Although Chelsea do have good players for the role, Conte would have definitely loved to have the Spaniard amidst his ranks as the playmaker.
#2 Romelu Lukaku
The big Belgian Romelu Lukaku, was one of the hottest young strikers on the planet when he was signed from Belgian club Anderlecht in 2011. He was highly anticipated to replace the ageing Didier Drogba up front with his strength, pace, and power, to serve him well in the physical Premier League.
He spent the majority of his first season playing for the reserves which was followed by a loan spell at West Brom for the entire 2012-13 season, where he gave a first-hand glimpse of his underlying potential. He scored 17 goals in the league outscoring his Chelsea teammates as well.
He returned to Chelsea the following summer when Mourinho returned to Chelsea. He missed the deciding penalty in 2013 UEFA Super Cup penalty shootout with Bayern Munich and later joined Everton on deadline day for another loan spell. He scored 15 goals for the Toffees in the league before returning back to Chelsea.
However, with no assurances from Mourinho regarding his role and future, Lukaku joined Everton permanently in July 2014 having made just 12 appearances for Chelsea and scoring zero goals.
At Everton, he has continued to thrive since then and has scored 66 goals so far across all competitions despite his young age.
In the same period, Chelsea bought Demba Ba, Andre Schurrle, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Costa, Loic Remy and re-signed Didier Drogba. Out of these attackers, only Costa has lived up to the expectations. Looking at the development of Lukaku over the last couple of years, everyone at Chelsea must be regretting letting the Belgian leave.
#1 Kevin de Bruyne
The sale of Kevin de Bruyne to Wolfsburg in January 2014 for £18 million is a move that has definitely come back to hurt Chelsea and will continue to do so. The talented playmaker was criticised by Mourinho for his mentality and not willing to fight for his place, after the Portuguese manager assured the Belgian of being in his plans for the 2013-14 EPL season.
In the 2014-15 season for Wolfsburg, de Bruyne had his career-best season as he scored 16 goals and made a staggering 27 assists, for which he was awarded the German Footballer of the Year. This sparked an interest from Europe’s top clubs which ended with Manchester City securing his signature for £55 million in August 2015.
He was a contender for the Player of the Year before a knee injury ruled him out for two months. Later in the Champions League quarterfinal against PSG, he scored a sublime goal to help City advance to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time. He finished the season with 16 goals and 9 assists and has started this season under Pep Guardiola in a spectacular fashion.
de Bruyne is the driving force behind City’s attacks with his scoring, creating and set-piece ability second to none in the league. City manager Guardiola recently said, “He is one of the best players I have worked with. When we talk about Messi, he is on his own table. It is not allowed, anyone else there. But in the table beside, Kevin can sit there.”
Coming from someone who has worked with Messi at Barcelona and arguably the best coach in the world, this is high praise for de Bruyne. This goes on to show that it was a mistake by Chelsea to let him go and now they are left with no other option but see him set the world alight with his quality.
