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The last summer witnessed a managerial change at Chelsea, as former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri replaced his compatriot Antonio Conte, who fell out with the board and some key players, despite his record-breaking debut season in which The Blues won the Premier League title at a canter with him revolutionising the English game with his three at the back system.
Sarri became the 13th managerial appointment made in the 15 years since Roman Abramovich has been in charge of the club, as the Russian oligarch has built a reputation of rapidly hiring and firing coaches when it suits him.
Sarri came highly rated from his time in Italy for his work with Empoli and more specifically Napoli, where his beautiful brand of football nicknamed Sarriball earned him admirers from all over the world and compliments from revered figures in the game such as Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.
His unique style of play means that not every player is blessed with the abilities to carry out his tactical requirements, and one of his very first decisions as Chelsea manager was to bring in Jorginho, who was the fulcrum of his team at Napoli, with him to Chelsea.
Every new managerial appointment has repercussions for the players at the club, as with him comes new training schedules, tactical requirements and sometimes dietary regimens, with the consequent effect being that some first-team players find themselves out of the equation due to their inability to meet their coach's demands, and Sarri at Chelsea is no different.
Here we list five players who have been affected negatively since Maurizio Sarri's arrival at Stamford Bridge.
#4 Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas is undoubtedly one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the Premier League. A product of the famed La Masia academy, Fabregas made a name for himself at Arsenal whom he joined as a teenager, establishing himself as one of the brightest talents in the world for the entirety of his eight seasons in London before returning home to Barcelona in 2011.
At Nou Camp, despite enjoying a stellar career in terms of trophies, he largely struggled to break into the first team, and was signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2014 in what was seen as a real coup, winning his first ever Premier League title in his debut season.
The 31-year-old Spaniard was integral to all of the club's success in the next four seasons, making a total of 132 Premier League appearances for the Blues in this time, with his lowest tally coming in Conte's debut season where he made 29 appearances.
So far this season, Fabregas has made just three appearances in 11 matches, with all coming as a substitute for a grand total of 48 minutes from a possible total of 1,080 minutes, as Sarri has shown a distinct trust in Ross Barkley, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante to be his starting midfield, while players like Loftus Cheek and Mateo Kovacic are preferred off the bench.
For so long, Fabregas has been established in the Chelsea set-up, but that is no longer the case since Sarri took the reins at Stamford Bridge, and with him entering the final year of his Chelsea contract, speculation has emerged that he could leave on a free transfer to Atletico Madrid, and it might be in his best interest to do so.
#3 Danny Drinkwater
A player who is bound to go down in the annals as one of the most inconsequential to have represented Chelsea, Drinkwater has done absolutely nothing in a Chelsea shirt since his arrival from Leicester City in the summer of 2017 on transfer deadline day.
His signing was shocking to say the least, as the club was already relatively well stocked in that department, not least because he was seen as rather expensive for £35m, and was viewed as an inferior replacement for Nemanja Matic.
One bright light from his arrival, however, was the potential of Chelsea fielding the 2016 Premier League winning midfield combination of Kante and Drinkwater, but injuries meant that Drinkwater’s contributions were very limited in his debut season.
Things have yet to improve for the 28-year-old thus far this season, and he is yet to make a single Premier League appearance, as it appears that he does not feature at all in Sarri’s plans, and with rumors emerging that some clubs are interested in his signature, The Blues could do well to count their losses on a £35m flop barely one year into their union.
#2 Gary Cahill
It is hard to believe that Gary Cahill is currently Chelsea’s captain, as the 32-year-old has barely featured for the club thus far this season.
A Champions League winner, Cahill has been a steady performer since his £7m arrival from Bolton in January 2012, and has won most of the Chelsea faithful over due to his never-say-die, body-on-the-line style of defending (although he is also guilty of his own fair share of gaffes).
Cahill has made a total of 190 Premier League appearances for Chelsea since 2012 (with most of them coming as a starter), but only one of those has come in the current campaign.
Cahill has played under no less than seven different managers in his six years at Chelsea, and every one of them has featured him in their plans, with Maurizio Sarri being the exception, and despite his immense popularity in the dressing room and the stands, it might just be the right time to call it quits on his Chelsea sojourn.
#1 Victor Moses
The Nigerian international arrived at Chelsea in 2012, after a string of impressive performances with Wigan Athletic, and he struggled to make any sort of impact in the first team for the next four seasons, enduring multiple loans to different clubs such as Liverpool, West Ham and Stoke City.
He returned to Chelsea in Conte’s debut season, and initially played a limited role in the Italian’s first few months in charge, until his breakthrough came when Conte switched to a back three system at Stamford Bridge.
Primarily a winger, Moses showed his versatility when he was asked to play as a right wing back in Conte’s system, and he performed so creditably well that he became a mainstay in the team, as the club embarked on its tile winning romp, with Moses earning rave reviews for his performances in the unfamiliar role.
He ended Conte’s first season in charge with 34 EPL appearances, and followed that up with 28 last season.
However, the arrival of Sarri in London this season reverted Moses back to the unknown in terms of where he stood at the club, as Sarri prefers a flat back four system and deployed Azpilicueta back to his preferred position as right-back, meaning Moses would be reverted back to his normal position on the wings.
The competition for places on Chelsea’s flanks is very stiff, with players like Willian, Pedro, and Hazard all vying for starts, and it is with this in mind that the 27-year-old announced his international retirement from Nigeria to focus on his club duties.
So far, this decision has not panned out well, as he still finds himself on the fringes, making just two league appearances, both of which came as a substitute for a total of 26 minutes.
