5 reasons Chelsea will not be in the title race in 2018

#5 Key players to leave

Chelsea’s two star men – Eden Hazard and Diego Costa – could leave in the summer

One of the fears that Chelsea fans will have at the start of the summer transfer window will be the future of their star players, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. The Blues’ two attacking linchpins are linked with moves away from Chelsea, with Hazard rumoured to have the caught the eye of Real Madrid, and Costa harping for a move back to Atletico Madrid in Spain.

Chelsea rely heavily on the duo in their attacking forays this season in the league. The Blues have scored 65 goals in the league this season, with 17 of those coming from the boot of the Spanish striker, and 14 from the Belgian winger; that’s almost half of the total goals scored by Chelsea in the league this season.

Both players have also made five assists each in the league, while also featuring in 29 of the 31 games in the league, showing how important they are to the Chelsea team. Finding able replacements for the champion-elect’s two world-class players, if they do leave, will be a difficult task for Conte and the Chelsea board.

There have also been reports doing the rounds that N’Golo Kante is a shock target for Real Madrid, which will be a huge disaster for Chelsea if the move does go through, as Kante has been at the heart of all things good in the Chelsea XI. If the Blues win the league, it’ll be back-to-back titles for the diminutive Frenchman, which goes to show the influence that he has on any team.