1. Filipe Luis
Filipe Luis, as mentioned in our Liverpool match review, needs to be playing games. At 29 years old and a Brazil international, he joined the club on the back of a dream title winning season in La Liga with Atletico Madrid which very nearly went one better as they narrowly lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Filipe Luis was first choice full back at Atletico and probably imagined he would get a good run in the Cheslea side. I suppose no-one quite banked on the form of Cesar Azpilicueta who has been possibly the most consistent full back in the Premier League this season. Through no real fault of his own, Filipe Luis has found himself second in line and has never really had a long run of games to put his own case forward. A hot favourite to return to Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid who will welcome him back with open arms and likely for a cut price fee.
2. Petr Cech
With Thibaut Courtois returning from his loan spell last summer, we knew Cech would get less game time. With just 5 league starts, he has been linked with a few clubs over the season, and now it seems talks with Besiktas have progressed and he’s ready to join the Turkish club.
Cech is arguably the most likely to leave Chelsea this summer, difficult to swallow for most Chelsea fans as he’s still one of the best goalkeepers around. He’d comfortably walk into any European giant first team, and at 32 has got a lot of shot stopping left in him yet.
Quite simply, Petr Cech is too good a goalkeeper to be starting on the bench. He deserves to play every week, and I’m sure Chelsea fans will respect his decision when he surely does decide to leave.
3. Didier Drogba
My personal opinion on Drogba is that he stil has something to offer. No I wouldn’t play him in the big games (as Jose was forced into at the end of the season) but time and again he has shown his worth to the club.
Here’s my ideal scenario: he takes on some sort of hybrid coaching/playing role at the club while deputising as a fourth choice striker next season. It’s well known we’re too thin on the ground in the goal-getting department so while I think it would be shortsighted to not bring in support for Remy and Costa, I also think it would be completely naive to release a proven performer at the top level, regardless of his age.
However, he’s still a favourite to leave this summer. His contract is up and we just don’t know whether on a personal level he wants to continue his career playing regular first team football or get one big final pay off in a far flung country on astronomical wages. He’s worshipped at The Bridge and if he’s settled in London then it would surely be tough to turn down one more season. An option that may well be out of his hands if the club don’t want him to stay.
4. Loic Remy
Loic Remy is a fantastic player to have on the bench – when fit. When he does play he has a good record of scoring for us, but with so much talk of strikers joining the club over the summer he may end up leaving because he simply can’t stay fit. Troublesome hamstrings may just be his undoing.
There is talk of his inclusion in a deal, along with £15 million to sign Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon – whose goalscoring record in Ligue 1 this season now stands at a whopping 27 goals. The question is if Jose Mourinho will give him another chance to get fit next season, or bring in another proven goalscorer over the summer.
5. Oscar
Maybe a surprise in the pack but Oscar has seemingly fallen out of favour in the closing months of the season. Whether its a trust thing on Jose’s part, a burnt out young player that struggled to keep up after a World Cup and a full season fighting on all fronts for Chelsea or something else entirely is anyone’s guess.
When Juan Mata departed, most Chelsea fans realised this was the time for Oscar to step up and deliver. It was effectively a choice between the two and Oscar was the chosen one. And he immediately performed.
Some sparkling footwork and stunning goals early in the season meant he became a key figure in Jose’s well-oiled machine. Yet fast forward a few months and he’s suddenly become a benchwarmer. Has Jose merely been protecting him and his talent? Either way he’s been out of favour and there has to be questions over whether he’ll be at The Bridge come August.
With rumours of PSG and Juventus sniffing around coupled with a £50 million price tag, Oscar leaving could be an economical way to fund Lacazette, Griezmann or even Bale – who I’m sure would all be warmly welcomed to the club. Whatever happens to Oscar, let’s never forget this…
- Related: Read our thoughts on all the latest Chelsea Transfer News
