The requisites and rejects at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea has held the reputation of having a history of big money moves and (read ‘especially’) on the wrong players. Here is a list of players the club would do itself a great deal of good by bringing in:

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich may have to sign a few more cheques. (Getty Images)

Centre-Back:

Defensively, Chelsea has remained a powerhouse all over Europe and is known to posses and produce the best of defenders, while the current crop begs a few questions. Ivanovic is proving too slow at the back and has failed to perform consistently. Di Matteo juggling with his position from a centre-back to full-back hasn’t helped either. David Luiz has proved beyond doubt that midfield is where he belongs. This leaves a few academy youngsters like Jeffrey Bruma and Tomas Kalas waiting to come up while the likes of Sam Hutchinson still in hunt for some quality game time in a blue jersey. All of this calls for someone to support Cahill and Terry at the back.

Best option: Dejan Lovren – young and talented, has played champions league regularly for Lyon. A good choice for about 15m.

Central Midfield:

The 2 features that stand-out in a characteristic Chelsea midfield of the ‘Special One’s era – a bison in the holding midfielder and an experienced long ball orchestrator. While the former part involved strong players ranging from Makelele, Essien to Geremi, the list of ‘orchestrators’ included the likes of Ballack, Deco and later Lampard getting the responsibility once Mourinho left. Right now, except for an ageing Lampard, Chelsea lack a long ball specialist with good precision.

Best option: Joao Moutinho – a seasoned and experienced veteran, will position himself at the heart of Chelsea’s line-up and shape the game.

Striker:

Goes without even saying that the club simply does not possess any striker at the moment who can perform consistently. Criticism on Torres is yet to cease whereas a 7m bargain on Ba still hasn’t plugged the crisis of strikers. Chelsea need to invest heavily but another 45-oddm tag on a Falcao or a Cavani would be ridiculous.

Best option: Stevan Jovetic, the 23-year-old has a knack of scoring and is performing at his prime in the Serie A.

And they should show the door to the likes of:

Branislav Ivanovic:

He’s been an impeccable member of the squad for the past few years, but doesn’t seem on course to follow a great career. His days of regular starts and quality performance seem a thing of past. He’s not fast enough to feature in the Premier League and depletion in the levels of strength doesn’t help either.

Ashley Cole:

Another great contributor to the team. He has been and most definitely still is the best left-back in the world, but questions still loom as to how long he would be able to keep up that level of performance. With talents like Ryan Bertrand warming the bench, he definitely won’t be missed. Being on the wrong side of 30 only fuels the fire.

Florent Malouda:

His exclusion from Chelsea’s season plans and lack of starts has made one thing clear – Malouda already has one foot outside the door. Lacklustre performances for the past 2 years remain the major reason.

John Obi Mikel:

A sensational talent, turned out a good midfielder, but always remained to be called an ‘unsung hero’. All said, his performance this season or the last one isn’t flattering. His strength is simply not up to the mark, speed is much below par, rate of interceptions is rock-bottom while his passes never lead to progress in play. Chelsea can ill-afford players like these if they have to cut down on the wages to fit themselves within the financial fair play regulations.

Yossi Benayoun:

Another player evidently having a foot outside the door. Wrong side of 30, lack of form and a misfit in the team, all point in only one direction. Why he was bought in the first place remains a good question, yet rhetorical.

Is Fernando Torres surplus to requirements and Chelsea? (Getty Images)

Fernando Torres:

Once a great player, ruined career owing to a high-wage transfer. Somehow Torres is not the only player to face this occurrence. 33 goals in his first 50 appearances in a red jersey while 9 in his first 50 in blue. It wouldn’t take a managerial intellect to tell he is neither a replacement for Drogba nor a fit in this Chelsea line-up.