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Midfield
Right-defensive midfield - Oriel Romeu
The Spaniard arrived from Barcelona with a good reputation - as most do from that club - and when he signed for Chelsea, they were sure to include a buy-back option in the player's contract. He played his small part in the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons before he was cruelly struck down by a serious injury that kept him out for the rest of that season.
This undeniably slowed down his progress and after 2 decent loan years with Valencia and Stuttgart respectively, Romeu was transferred to Southampton for just £5 million.
In his 3 seasons there so far, he has been the solid, powerful base in the defensive midfield that has seen his new club punch above their weight in the EPL. The fans recognized him as the club's player of the year last season, and Romeu has begun to see his name linked to Arsenal and Everton.
The player is still only 26 and should have his best years ahead of him, and it's a shame that these won't be at Chelsea. The Blues signed Danny Drinkwater in the summer from Leicester and it feels like Romeu's stronger defensive shielding would have been more valuable to Conte's team this campaign.
Left-defensive midfield - Nemanja Matic
An infamous departure from Chelsea this summer, Matic has been compared a lot in the media to the man who replaced him at the club, Tiemoue Bakayoko: while the Serbian has fitted seamlessly into his new surroundings at Old Trafford, Bakayoko has been hailed by many as the worst signing of the Premier League season.
Matic first joined Chelsea in 2009 but managed just 2 league appearances, spending his 2nd season on loan at usual contacts Vitesse Arnhem. A move to Portuguese giants Benfica followed and then Matic won the league title in 2014, scored a goal-of-the-season contender before Chelsea decided they required his services again and purchased the player back in 2014.
It must have felt great for Matic to get another chance to prove himself at the club and he was an absolute rock as Chelsea triumphed in the league in 2015. He was tough in the tackle and dynamic in possession; his performances even led to him being named in the PFA team of the year.
Matic would be pivotal in Chelsea's 2nd league win in 3 years in 2017, with his partnership with N'Golo Kante in the central midfield being virtually impenetrable. His passing range, calmness and his left-foot provided the perfect balance to Frenchman's all-action, feverish displays.
It felt, then, quite harsh when Conte seemed content to allow Matic to join a strong league rival in Manchester United. There was the suggestion that Matic wasn't needed considering how strong defensively Kante was, but that player's subsequent injury and Bakayoko's terrible displays have rendered this argument redundant.
Chelsea hasn't had a bad season by any means, and find themselves only 4 points behind their Manchester foes, but it's not a stretch to say that Matic's talents could have made the difference in that small margin.
Centre-attacking midfield - Kevin De Bruyne
Another masterclass in bad Mourinho policy, De Bruyne has been the best in a very good Manchester City team this season as they romp their way to an almost-guaranteed title win this season.
His manager Pep Guardiola has mentioned his name alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo; the player has 14 assists in league play already and could break Thierry Henry's EPL record of 20 if he continues his good form. For 3 seasons now the Belgian has been playing at a world-class level but his ability was always evident before then.
He signed for Chelsea in 2012 and was immediately farmed out to Werder Bremen for the 2012/2013 season. De Bruyne duly impressed, scoring 10 goals from the midfield at just 22 years of age.
This naturally led to him staying at Stamford Bridge the following season, after being assured of his place by Mourinho and De Bruyne did indeed start the 2013/2014 season in the first team, including the opening game, but his first-team appearances would dry up fast.
The blame has to be laid at Mourinho's door because he played De Bruyne deeper in the midfield, where his natural game wasn't allowed to flourish. His incisive passing, dribbling ability and shooting were shunned in favour of defensive-awareness and shielding by Mourinho and thus the Chelsea fans never got to see him at his true best.
The player returned to Bundesliga, this time with Wolfsburg, and returned to form scoring another 10 goals in the 2014/2015 season. De Bruyne joined Manchester City in 2015 and has arguably been the league's best midfielder ever since.
He's scored goals, provided numerous others for his teammates, and has dominated overall play like few others can do. Chelsea fans can only imagine just how good in attack their team could have been had Eden Hazard got the opportunity to combine with his fellow Belgian for the club.
