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Mourinho parted ways with Chelsea on ‘mutual consent’ on ThursdayWith Jose Mourinho’s tenure as Chelsea coming to an end, there are a lot of if’s and but’s surrounding the conditions of the club now. Speculations regarding who will fill the shoes emptied by the departure of the Portuguese are gaining speed and rumours that the dressing room had a hand in the sacking of the manager are beginning to surface as well.The third season of Mourinho’s second spell with the Blues was filled with controversies surrounding players’ treatment, their relationship with the manager and even rumours of a mini-revolt. But now with the Portuguese gone the players who found it hard to perform at the level they wished to under him, might break out from their cocoon and help the club to get to a respectable position in the league table come May.Here we take a look at five players who could benefit themselves from Jose Mourinho’s sacking.
#1 Diego Costa
The cantankerous Chelsea striker was at his brilliant best when he was brought in by Chelsea before the 2014-15 season from Atletico Madrid, scoring 20 goals in the English Premier League. It was his blistering goalscoring form which helped the Blues to their fourth Premier League title.
However, since the start of this season, he seemed to have lost his mojo. The altercation with Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny early in the campaign made everyone question his on-field antics. As the season progressed, Costa’s form continued to dip and he was reportedly not happy with Jose Mourinho.
The Brazil-born striker was seen arguing with the manager during Chelsea’s Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The argument got so heated up that John Terry stepped in to restrain the striker as tensions were running high between the two.
Mourinho later explained the incident and said, “I wanted him to do a certain movement that he didn't, I was disappointed. I reacted. He reacted too.”
“At half-time in the dressing room - a few kisses and a few cuddles.”
The 27-year-old was then benched for the London derby against Tottenham Hotspurs and Costa got so frustrated that he appeared to have thrown his training bib towards Mourinho.
“If he wants to hurt me, it's not with a bib,” said the manager after he was quizzed about the incident.
The ex-Atletico striker has scored just 4 goals for the London-based club in all competitions thus far, and now that Mourinho is no longer at helm of the club, he might gain some confidence and show the new manager that he is capable of much more than what he has done so far this term.
#2 Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard was a star for the defending champions last season as he tormented the oppositions week in week out with his impeccable ball control and fantastic dribbling techniques. He scored 14 goals and provided 9 assists in a title winning season for the Blues which led him to be named the PFA Player of the year for the 2014-15 season.
The Belgian’s performances were so good that they forced Jose Mourinho to claim that the winger was better than Cristiano Ronaldo last season. The new season started and the tides turned quite unexpectedly for the winger and the club as well. The 24-year-old gave his first assist of the season in the third Premier League match and then added another assist to his name four matches later.
However, the goals did not come and that created a dent in his confidence as he has failed to score a single goal in the Premier League this season. He was time and again dropped from the team by Mourinho, which did not help either.
Hazard was criticised by the Portuguese tactician for not tracking back to help his defence and soon the rumours of a rift between the manager and his player started to come out. Though, the playmaker denied the rumours but his performances saw no improvement.
The loss against Leicester City prompted Mourinho to say, “The players have to look to Sunderland and Watford and say: ‘I am not the superstar, I am not ‘the player of the season’. I am not the world champion, I am not the Premier League champion. At this moment, I am at your level’”.
Clearly, ‘the player of the season’ dig was aimed at the Belgian and he would only hope that he raises his performance with a new manager coming in.
#3 Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas was one of the best performers for the defending champions last season. He was bought from Barcelona for a fee in the region of €33 million, and he started with a bang as he provided two assists in his first appearance for the club.
Such was his form that he made six assists in his first four matches upon his return to the Premier League. He made scoring goals for the forwards very easy as he provided a total of 13 assists before the turn of the new year and added another five more to that list in the rest of the season. The start of 2015 saw Chelsea being beaten by Tottenham on New Year’s day and it was after the London derby that his form suffered a considerable dip.
The 28-year-old did not do much good in the new season as well as he has made two goals for his team in 16 premier league matches and has failed to score a single goal. Earlier in November, there were rumours of Fabregas leading a mini-revolt after the team failed to gain any sort of momentum in the league.
Fabregas later cleared the air by posting a series of tweets saying, “There may be certain individuals from the outside trying to destabilise the club but I strongly believe that we will bounce back and come good again.”
Although, the team has not bounced back from the slump as of yet and maybe with a new manager coming into the fray, Fabregas might up the ante and save the club from a possible relegation.
#4 Baba Rahman
The Ghana international signed for Chelsea in the summer transfer window for a fee reported to be an initial £14 million, rising to a potential fee of almost £22 million. However, the hefty price tag has not helped the left-back break into the starting XI.
The 21-year-old helped Bundesliga club Augsburg to their highest ever finish in the German top league last season and his commendable performance for his country Ghana in the 2015 African Cup of nations prompted the London-based club to snatch him from the German club.
He was expected to be at least a sporadic selection in the Chelsea starting XI, however, Mourinho chose to field Cesar Azpilicueta on his less-favoured left-back position and persisted with Branislav Ivanovic and Kurt Zouma on the right side of the defensive line.
Baba made only three starts this season despite keeping himself away from any injuries, but now with Mourinho gone and a new manager to be announced soon, the youngster would like to feature more in the starting XI than he did during Mou’s reign.
#5 Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Loftus-Cheek, the Chelsea youth product has been in and around the senior team for quite some time now. The English youngster made his debut for the senior team back in December 2014 in a UEFA Champions League match and featured for the first time in the Premier League in January, earlier this year.
The English youngster was handed his first start in a crunch match against Liverpool in May and he played for the first 60 minutes and recorded a 100% pass accuracy. He was expected to feature more in the team after the first choice midfielders Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and Ramires found it hard to get going.
However, he only made three appearances for the club this season, which includes only one start, a 2-0 win over Aston Villa where he was subbed off after 45 minutes.
Loftus-Cheek is the only one from the Chelsea academy to make it into the first team despite the fact that Abramovich invested almost £100m in Chelsea’s academy system.
“The players and the agents [say]: ‘Oh, I need five matches in a row to prove myself’. You don’t need five matches in a row … You need 10 minutes. In 10 minutes you can show you are ready, you are mentally ready, you are physically ready, you are ready to cope with the pressure,” the Portuguese tactician earlier said about young players.
But now with Mourinho gone, (who once said that ‘Loftus-Cheek doesn’t press, doesn’t have intensity and he’s waiting for everybody else to recover the ball’), the 19-year old might feature more in the first team and prove his worth to the world.
