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Having talked down his side’s chances of silverware this season frequently, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho remains insistent that his is a team in transition. Part of that transition means that players will inevitably leave the club in order to free up space for new arrivals.
With 28 players currently out on loan, there could be an exodus of players heading towards the exit door at Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Inspired by the Evening Standard’s list of twelve players likely to be shown the door come the end of the current campaign, we’ve cobbled together a Chelsea boot sale XI of unwanted players.
Goalkeeper: Mark Schwarzer
Thibault Courtois has been impressive form for Atletico Madrid and, reportedly, is still in Mourinho’s plans as a long term heir to Petr Cech, which means Chelsea’s exodus may well be led by two of their most experienced players.
Both Hilario and Mark Schwarzer look set to leave in the summer, according to the Evening Standard. Having been battling for the scraps left behind by the ever present Petr Cech this season, the two ageing stoppers are now vying for the number one spot in our XI of players to be leaving the club.
Spare a though for Hilario, though. Restricted to the odd outing on the bench this season, he can’t even get into a Chelsea boot sale XI.
Right Back: Ryan Bertrand
Switching over from his usual left back berth, Bertrand lines up as a right back for our departing XI. Once heralded as the youngster most likely to emulate John Terry in progressing from the side’s youth ranks to first team, the former Gillingham youngster has been farmed out on loan to Aston Villa for the second half of the season.
Despite initially looking to be the long term answer to how to replace Ashley Cole, Bertrand’s Chelsea career looks to be fizzling out with Mourinho not rating him.
Bertrand has made nine appearances for Villa this season, making 12 tackles and 23 clearances over that time.
Centre Back: Patrick Van Aanholt
Once again we’re putting square pegs in round holes, with an out of position left back filling in at centre back. Twenty-three year old Van Aanholt, currently on loan at Dutch side Vitesse, is out of contract at the end of the season and – judging by media comments – does not relish a return to the reserves at Stamford Bridge even if he were to be offered a new deal.
At the age of 23, and with more loan spells (5) than Chelsea appearances (2), Van Aanholt looks unlikely to be at the club next season. An attack-minded full back, he has created 24 chances this season in his 22 appearances and has won an impressive 47 tackles.
Centre Back: David Luiz
Sadly for Luiz, he looks to have lost the battle with Gary Cahill for the club’s second centre back berth. The pair fought it out in the early part of the season to play alongside John Terry, but Cahill has made the role his own in recent weeks. With Kurt Zouma arriving in the summer, Luiz’s chances at centre back look remote and Chelsea may be tempted to cash in on a man who has drawn suitors with deep pockets in PSG and Barcelona.
Luiz has made 17 appearances this season, making 25 interceptions and winning 60% of his headed duels.
Ashley Cole and David Luiz
Left Back: Ashley Cole
Another position in our departing eleven, another left back. Ashley Cole completes our back four, with his contract up in the summer and little indication that his Chelsea career will be stretching into a ninth year.
Having lost his place to Cesar Azpilicueta and with Southampton’s Luke Shaw reportedly a target for the club, Cole looks set to be leaving the club and will have no shortage of clubs to choose between in spite of his age.
The 33 year old, whose World Cup hopes currently hang by a thread, has made 13 league appearances this season but has not featured since early January. When he has featured, he has done little to prove Mourinho wrong in not selecting him, winning just 27% of his headed duels.
Right Midfield: Marko Marin
Signed for relatively big money in 2012, Marin is currently on loan at Sevilla and looks unlikely to add to his six Blues appearances. The Evening Standard have him on their list of players set to depart and, at 25, he could be in a similar, if slightly older, position to the one that Kevin De Bruyne found himself in last season should he return from a successful loan spell to warm the Chelsea bench.
Marin has made 14 league appearances for Sevilla this season, having created a chance every 53 minutes and completed a take on every 40 minutes spent on the pitch.
Marko Marin
Central Midfield: John Obi Mikel
One of the men to lose out from the signing of Nemanja Matic, Mikel has been pushed even further down the Chelsea pecking order this season and has been restricted to just nine starts in the Premier League.
This has included just one of the last ten games, making it a fairly safe bet that the Nigerian is surplus to requirements.
The reported Galatasaray target has made 21 interceptions this season and has won 24 tackles.
Central Midfield: Josh McEachran
Josh McEachran. Remember him? Another player of which great things were expected, the central midfielder has whittled away the past few years with loan spells at Championship sides having made his Blues debut in 2010.
Currently at Wigan, the 21 year old is one of the players on the Evening Standard’s list having never quite reached the level hoped for (yet.) In five appearances for the Latics, McEachran has made eight tackles (a success rate of just 44%) and created six chances.
Left Midfield: Victor Moses
Almost a figure of derision nowadays, it’s easy to forget that during his days at Crystal Palace and Wigan Moses was one of the most exciting wingers around. Currently on loan at Liverpool, Moses has featured sporadically for the title chasing side and has made just six league starts this season.
These six have been accompanied by ten substitute appearances, which between them have yielded one goal and eight chances created.
Striker: Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Such is the motley collection of strikers at the club, the forward line is the most hotly contested of our departing XI.
With at least one, if not two, new strikers high on Mourinho’s summer shopping list, the Evening Standard believe that he could be set to embark on a ruthless cull that will see Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o all leave the club.
Reports suggest that the club have finally run out of patience with £50 million record signing Torres, upon whom they will surely have to accept a massive loss.
The Spaniard has been handed starts away from home this season, largely due to Eto’o’s incompetence on the road, but has scored just four league goals. Hardly the return expected of the former Liverpool forward.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
A sour relationship with Mourinho, combined with the demands of financial fair play, mean that the last man on our list looks likely to leave in spite of the fact that none of the club’s strikers have scored more Premier League goals this season.
Lukaku has scored 12 goals in a loan spell at Everton, but Mourinho is said to believe that he can raise money for signings by selling the Belgian.
During his time at Everton, Lukaku has won 71 headed duels and registered six assists.
