Five players that could leave Chelsea this summer

The Blues may be sitting pretty in third place but the decision over which players leave and which stay at Stamford Bridge ultimately rests in the hands of owner Roman Abramovich.

If history is to serve as witness, he is not one to give his employees much rope.

Under these circumstances, here, in my opinion, are five players who could leave Chelsea this summer.

Ross Turnbull

Out of contract this summer, 28-year-old Ross Turnbull has been Chelsea’s second choice keeper ever since he arrived from Middlesbrough in 2009.

Making just seventeen appearances in the Chelsea Blue, Turnbull has made several high-profile errors when it has mattered most for his club.

A poor clearance against Liverpool leading to Jonjo Shelvey scoring the fourth in a 4-1 rout at Anfield, his recent showing against Queens Park Rangers that led to Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring the only goal in West London and the performance against Brentford where he conceded a penalty and was lucky not to see red as the Bees drew their FA Cup tie 2-2 at Griffin Park to force a replay at Stamford Bridge.

With just months remaining on his contract, it seems far from likely that the former England U-19 custodian will be offered a new deal to remain a piece in the Russian oligarch’s chess set.

Yossi Benayoun

I’m sure football fans were wondering why Israeli skipper Benayoun moved from Liverpool to Chelsea in the summer of 2010.

Having been told by then Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez that he was to have no future at Merseyside, Benayoun moved to London and joined the Blues on a three-year deal. While some were expecting the former West Ham product to fit right into the Chelsea lineup, he suffered an Achilles rupture in an FA Cup game against Newcastle, only returning in 2011 when he played the second half against Wigan.

With the arrival of Juan Mata that summer, Benayoun’s place in the centre of the park – a very crowded position at Chelsea – was in no way guaranteed.

Switching temporarily to Arsenal for the entire season on deadline day, he was able to rediscover his form as Arsene Wenger utilised the versatile Israeli in a multitude of positions, where he had a relatively successful season in the Gunners’ push for third place.

With him still not finding football at Stamford Bridge, Benayoun was loaned to former club West Ham United, where he played just nine games before picking up an injury in training that saw his loan terminated.

Now back at Chelsea, Benayoun will certainly move on either in January or over the summer.

Michael Essien

Arriving in the summer of 2005 from French giants Olympique Lyonnais for a whopping £24.4 million fee in what was one of the longest-running transfer sagas of that summer, Michael Essien was an integral part of a Chelsea team that collected two Premier League titles with him in the side.

A no-nonsense, tough-tackling box-to-box midfielder, Essien was a veritable workhorse of a player who was as comfortable aiding his team in defence as he was joining in the attack.

As his thunderous hammer blow strikes from distance will testify, the stocky Ghana midfielder was also blessed with pace, energy to burn and the vision to pick out his teammates.

Scoring crucial goals and helping out his team whenever they needed reinforcements, Essien was always there when Chelsea needed him.

But injury takes its toll on even the most rugged dynamos, and the former Lyon man had his fair share of them.

Injuries such as the 2010 AFCON which saw him miss the rest of the domestic season and an anterior cruciate ligament tear that required surgery and an accompanying knee injury that kept him out for a good six months of the season.

These injuries meant he was no longer the all-action, lung-busting player he once was. That, coupled with the constant changing of managers and the presence of John Obi Mikel and Oriol Romeu on the Chelsea first team roster, meant he was not guaranteed a starting berth in the Blues lineup.

Moving to Real Madrid on a season-long loan, the versatile Essien has teamed up with his ‘daddy’ Jose Mourinho, the man who brought him to the Bridge in the first place. Finally rediscovering the form that made him a household name at Chelsea, Essien – if he is not guaranteed first team football next season – could well seek a move away from West London.

Florent Malouda

“This is where I’ll train for my last season with the blues !!!”

A few days after the 2012-13 season began, Malouda tweeted a picture of himself outside the Chelsea reserves complex with that message.

The reason Malouda was relegated to the U-21 Development Squad at Stamford Bridge is because he wished to leave the club over the summer. With the arrivals of young blood in the form of Eden Hazard, Oscar Emboaba and Marko Marin, Malouda’s position of the left wing was threatened.

Shining under Luis Felipe Scolari and his successor Carlo Ancelotti, Malouda played some of the best football he’d ever played in a Blues shirt.

But with the player ageing and with the younger options that Chelsea possessed out wide, there was no place in the squad for the France international.

After requesting to be sold the previous summer, Malouda was offered to several clubs. Former side Olympique Lyonnais were interested in taking the player back to the Stade Gerland, but his £80,000 a week wages scuppered any deal between the two parties.

Having also seen several Brazilian clubs interested (Malouda’s wife is Brazilian), the winger refused to take a wage cut and move to South America, where Santos were apparently monitoring him.

Along with fellow outcast Paulo Ferreira, who has also been relegated to the reserves, Malouda is a cert to leave Chelsea this summer.

Frank Lampard

It pains me to say so, but Chelsea’s iconic number eight might finally exit Stamford Bridge this summer.

With sources stating that the Club do not wish to renew the 34-year-old’s contract on account of his age, Lampard is the subject of offers from abroad with clubs in the United States in the form of LA Galaxy and several clubs in the Chinese Super League interested in him.

Lampard has been one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers since his arrival from West Ham United in 2001.

The fulcrum of Chelsea’s midfield for more than a decade, it’s hard to imagine one of Chelsea’s recent sides without the England international.

But Super Frankie Lampard might just play his last game for the Blues this May. Chelsea’s go-to guy has been replaced by a certain sprightly Spaniard by the name of Juan Mata.

Despite reinventing his game to suit the needs of both the club and his ageing body, Lampard has proved time and time again why he deserves to wear the blue of Chelsea. One of the leaders on the pitch, here’s hoping the legendary midfielder is granted the ability to prolong his career with the club whose heart he wears on his sleeve.