Chelsea's 'shouldn't have sold' XI

Defense

Right-back - Glen Johnson

At his peak, Johnson was a good EPL defender

It seems incredible that a player who won 51 caps for his country would ever be allowed to leave a top club but this is exactly what happened to Johnson. Admittedly, he won most of these after his time at Chelsea, but it's a sign of just how good the right-back was.

He made 41 league appearances between 2003 and 2008 but his path to the first team was blocked by Mourinho's Portuguese compatriot Paulo Ferreira. While he was a competent performer and perhaps a better defender than Johnson, as he got older and tired, Johnson's dynamism and athleticism at right-back would have been very welcome.

He made enough appearances to receive a league winners' medal in 2005 but a few years later, he departed for Portsmouth, after spending a good season on loan with them. For over a decade now, Johnson has been a fixture for his clubs and country in his position, including making over 150 league appearances for Liverpool.

He may be on the decline now, but Chelsea struggled at right-back with the erratic and bewildering Bosingwa when Ferreira declined and one can't doubt that Johnson would have been a far better option.

Centre-back - Ricardo Carvalho

Carvalho played under Mourinho at 3 different clubs

Another departure similar to Cech in that he had served Chelsea extremely well and left them in his later footballing years, Carvalho's subsequent performances proved that he still had much to offer.

At 32, Carvalho rejoined his old Chelsea and Porto manager Mourinho at Real Madrid and was an ever-present in the central defender's role for the Spanish side as Mourinho's calming lieutenant at the back.

It's often said that centre-backs can play on the top level much older than, say, attacking players who have tired themselves out by then, and in truth, Carvalho was never a defender who relied on pace and athleticism anyway.

His game was all about his amazing reading of the play, and his world-class movement and positioning. These were all attributes that never left his game and, after 3 seasons at Madrid, Carvalho would enjoy another 3 effective years in France with Monaco.

While he might not have started each week at Chelsea during those campaigns, his experience and defensive wisdom would have been invaluable in the lean years before Mourinho's return to the club in 2013.

Centre-back - Nathan Ake

The Dutch international hasn't put a foot wrong for Bournemouth since joining

For a long time, many said Ake would be the first youth player to make the first team since club captain and legend John Terry did so in 1998. He was confident, classy in possession yet strong in the air; Ake played like David Luiz without the tendency of making needless errors.

He spent 2015/2016 on loan at Watford and won their young player of the year award, despite being deployed out of his natural position at left-back for much of the campaign with his outstanding work-rate and tireless effort allowing him to play well there.

Ake again found himself shipped out on loan in the following seasons, this time to Bournemouth, but was recalled January by Conte due to his excellent performances both in defence and the midfield for his loan side.

It seemed like a sign of approval from his manager, a mark of trust, and indeed Ake played in 3 rounds of the FA Cup as Chelsea made it to the final. His game time got curtailed after this and Conte then allowed him to rejoin Bournemouth for a club record fee of £20 million.

Again the player has impressed for his new club and even at 22, he seems capable of performing in the EPL for many years. Ake has 5 caps for his national team the Netherlands and should definitely feel aggrieved that he didn't get more of a chance at his former club.

Gary Cahill has been a dependable servant for Chelsea in recent seasons but he is quickly slowing down now and Ake certainly would have provided a better option, even from the substitutes bench, than Cahill.

Left-back - Filipe Luis

Luis has been a world-class full-back for years now

Luis's time in English football seemed to flash by without many noticing which is remarkable considering his talent. He was signed after being a part of Atletico Madrid's historic La Liga title triumph in 2014.

Luis would leave after only the one season an EPL winner, but played only 15 times in the league, a disappointing return. Typical of a Mourinho team, the manager favoured the more defensive-minded Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back for most of the season, despite the Spaniard being a centre-back by trade.

Chelsea did indeed have a miserly defence and were difficult to break down, but there was no dynamism or the incessant running that Luis could have offered on the left side of the pitch; it was sadly a negative footballing move that was not surprising from Mourinho at all.

Luis decided to return to Atletico in 2015 and has been his usual self for the club since. As his former employers struggled after winning the league, Luis was a major catalyst for Atletico making it to the Champions League final in 2016, only agonizingly losing out to rivals Real Madrid.

There are few better defenders at dribbling with the ball and contributing to their teams' attacking play, and EPL fans should feel unlucky that they didn't get to witness Luis' exciting ability on a more regular basis.