4 players Chelsea FC should hold on to

Over the years, Chelsea FC has shown the inability to hold on to promising young players who have moved on to other clubs and become superstars there. Mohammed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are the first few examples that come to mind. How did they slip the net at Chelsea? It's baffling, to say the least.

Is it a lack of talent-spotting ability? I sure hope not. Even Romelu Lukaku was not given much of a chance to prove himself at Chelsea. He was sold to Everton and scored plenty of goals there. Having said that, it's important for Chelsea to stop making the mistake of selling their best players. Youngster or veteran, the club must find a way to hold on to their best players. Here are four players Chelsea must hold on to at any cost.

N'Golo Kante

Let us not mince matters: N'Golo Kante is currently the world's best defensive midfielder. His eye for danger and ball recovery in front of goal is absolutely phenomenal.

Though Kante operated as a defensive midfielder under Antonio Conte, the Frenchman has been asked to play a more attacking role by the new Chelsea boss, Maurizio Sarri. Sarri has asked the Frenchman to contribute with goals and assists in the final third.

Kante attracted huge bids from PSG in the summer transfer window and Chelsea did well to ward off the pressure. Kante has a 68% tackle success rate, 945 recoveries and 329 interceptions in the Premier League. He'd do well to improve on his attacking prowess and become the complete central midfielder.

Willian

Willian is one of the most under rated players in the Premier League. He goes about his ways with utmost efficiency and is not one to look for the limelight. He is at his best on the right wing and gives the defenders a run for their money with his pace and skill. He is excellent even off the ball and makes runs between defenders to put them under pressure.

The Brazilian has a brilliant footballing mind and is one of Chelsea's best players. With Pedro finding goal scoring form early on in the season, Willian has been sparingly used. He will be waiting for his chance to show the new manager what he is capable of.

Willian has 26 goals and 21 assists in the Premier League, which could multiply rapidly and reap dividends for Chelsea.

Andreas Christensen

Andreas Christensen joined Chelsea in 2012 when he was just 15 years old. Christensen first came into the limelight when he was deployed in the middle of a three man defense by Antonio Conte in 2017.

Showing such faith in a youngster, even though Conte had the likes of Gary Cahill, Victor Moses and David Luiz at his disposal, is proof of the quality Christensen possesses. The Danish international did very well under Conte.

He has 140 recoveries, 104 clearances, 26 successful tackles and 38 interceptions to his name in the Premier League. Though there were a couple of occasions when Christensen faltered, he was very resilient and courageous in defense. Andreas has the potential to follow in the footsteps of John Terry, and the Blues would be foolish to let him go.

Eden Hazard

This one's a no brainer, isn't it? Eden Hazard is by far Chelsea's best player, if not the best player in the Premier League. Real Madrid is lining him up as a long term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo but Chelsea should hold on to the Belgian, as it's next to impossible to find a replacement for someone of his caliber.

Hazard is one short of 100 goals for Chelsea. He has found a rich vein of form early on this season and is currently the leading goal scorer in the Premier League. His pace, skill and guile is one of a kind and causes all sorts of problems for the defenders in the opposition.

There's been a new contract on the table for a long time now and it will worry Chelsea that Hazard hasn't signed it yet. The Belgian has his heart set on the Bernabeu and it remains to be seen as to what the future holds for Chelsea.