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A fifth place finish in the league condemned Chelsea to a season without Champions League football. It also brought to Stamford Bridge another summer of turmoil and uncertainty because if there is one thing that owner Roman Abramovich lacks its patience. Antonio Conte seems destined to be sacked despite winning the FA Cup last season and the Premier League the season before that.
Odds on favourite to replace him is Maurizio Sarri. Only a small matter of transfer fees remains to be negotiated between Napoli and Chelsea. Sarri has two years left on his contract with Napoli but the club have already signed a replacement in the form of Carlo Ancelloti. Despite that, Napoli are not willing to let go off him without a transfer fee even if that means that they have to continue paying his wages for the next year without having a job for him.
Its a ridiculous situation really. Sarri has a buyout clause of about 8 million euros. Chelsea are not willing to pay anywhere close to that as they will also have to pay Conte about 9 million euros for terminating his contract. The saga has stretched for the better part of the summer already but I expect a deal to be finally done in the region of 4.5 million euros as transfer fees.
Chelsea's poor performance last season will also likely lead to the sacking of a few players. Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, David Luiz and Gary Cahill are all on the other side of thirty and performed well below par last season. Willian's performance was not as bad but he will also be thirty by the time the season starts. Club record signing Alvaro Morata started off well but had a torrid 2018. Other new signings of last season Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayako, Ross Barkley and Emerson also did not live up to expectations. Which means that a majority of these players will be on their way out in the summer.
Should Maurizio Sarri move to Chelsea, he will look to overhaul his squad with some players from the Serie A who he is familiar with. A lot of names have been thrown up in the air. but these 5 are the most likely players to move from the Italian league to Chelsea should Sarri take over the reins.
#6 Elseid Hysaj
Chelsea are short of wing back options especially on the right with Victor Moses and Davide Zappacosta both under performing. On the other hand Elseid Hysaj was in good form last season. He is defensively astute, strong going forward and can send out deadly crosses from the wings.
Add to that the fact that he can play on the left wing as well which would make him a good utility player to have in the squad. The Albanian has been known to move with Sarri having previously played under the man at both Empoli and Napoli. Should Sarri persist with a back 5 then Hysaj would make for a sensible buy. It would also him to move Moses to a winger position which is a more natural one for the Nigerian attacker.
#5 Alisson Becker
Alisson Becker took over the number one jersey at Roma last season and excelled between the sticks. His performances in the Champions League stood out as Roma kept a clean sheet at home in all matches but their semi final against Liverpool. As a result he was named in the Champions League Squad of the Season for 2017-18.
He has also overtaken Manchester City's Ederson as Brazil's number one in this World Cup and has performed as expected. His positioning is solid and he is good in the air as well. This one is a long shot but still possible should Chelsea's current number one Thibaut Courtois force a move through to long time admirers Real Madrid.
Chelsea's backup keepers Willy Caballero and Eduardo are both above 35. And Caballero has had a catastrophic World Cup with Argentina. So expect Chelsea to move for Becker if they let go of Courtois.
#4 Kalidou Koulibaly
For the entire transfer window of last summer, Chelsea chased Koulibaly and failed. With neither David Luiz nor Gary Cahill considered good enough to start regularly, the Blues need a new centre back. The Senegalese is a man mountain of a central defender who also has the ability to pass the ball. He is physically strong and great in the air as well.
Koulibaly has been performing consistently for Napoli over the last four seasons. In both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons he made it to the Serie A team of the year. With his proven quality he would make for a perfect back three with Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta. As Napoli manager, Sarri blocked Koulibaly's move to Chelsea but will he now be able to convince him to move.
#3 Dries Mertens
In recent times Chelsea have been a club with strong Belgian representation. Even though they let go off talents like Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, they still have Hazard, Courtois and Batshuayi in the team. Dries Mertens could be another addition to the Belgian contingent at Stamford Bridge.
With Pedro`s best behind him and Willian also ageing, Mertens would provide options on the wing. In the ongoing World Cup Hazard and Mertens are playing together on the wings for Belgium and Chelsea would hope that they are able to replicate the same chemistry for club as well. While Mertens is also 31, his recent form with Napoli has been far better than that off Willian or Pedro.
Sarri might be tempted to make Mertens his first signing and hope that the Belgians come together to power his team to success.
#2 Daniele Rugani
Summer 2018 has been abound with stories of Daniele Rugani's transfer to Chelsea. Its still not a done deal though. Naturally any player would want to know which manager he would play under. So perhaps once Sarri's appointment is confirmed, Rugani might be the first player to walk into Stamford Bridge.
The tall centre back has been playing for Juventus for the last three seasons. His performances have not been as eye catching as some of the other names on the list. But at 24 years of age he is one for the future. And along with Christensen he could form a solid partnership at the back for years to come. He is strong both on the ground and in the air and can play the ball much like Christensen.
#1 Gonzalo Higuain
Alvaro Morata's first season at Chelsea was poor at best. Michy Batshuayi is unlikely to get long run in the starting line up. Olivier Giroud is a back up option at best. So that leaves Chelsea in the market for yet another striker.
Gonzalo Higuain will be 31 at the end of the year. But he will give Chelsea what they so desperately need - goals, goals and more goals. You know what you are getting with El Pipita. A record of 20+ goals in each of the last 5 seasons means he is a proven goal scorer without fail. He might not be the long term solution but in the next 2-3 years he is bound to give you immediate returns.
Morata might have age on his side but he has failed to settle down at Chelsea. In the one season that Higuain played under Sarri at Napoli, he plundered 38 goals in 42 games. Thats nearly a goal a game. If Sarri can get the same results with him at Chelsea, then the Blues' fans will forget Morata in no time. A swap deal for the two would suit Juventus as well it was in Turin that Morata first came to the limelight.
Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea is almost a done deal. Just a matter of a million euros here or there. What will be exciting for Chelsea faithfuls will be the kind of players that he brings with him and the brand of football that he will get them to play.
