The revolving door at the exit of Stamford Bridge could be spinning pretty regularly this summer if Jose Mourinho goes ahead with a drastic overhaul of his squad, which could mean up to a dozen players leaving the club.
At the top of the list to head out the door is the misfiring trio of strikers, Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o. Although Eto’o has netted eleven times this season, making him easily the most prolific of the three, it’s unlikely the club will extend his stay. Mourinho appears to have lost patience with the other two, and their departures seems inevitable.
Another high profile name thought to be on the way out is Brazil’s David Luiz. Never Mourinho’s idea of the archetypal defender, Luiz’s season has been plagued by injuries, but even when given first team opportunities, this has often been as a holding midfield player rather than in his preferred centre back position.
The manager’s decision to substitute him at half-time from the midfield role against Fulham on Saturday spoke volumes for how Mourinho views the player. With talk of bids expected from PSG – where he could team up with international centre back partner Thiago Silva – and Barcelona, Chelsea would be looking to accumulate the kind of transfer fee for Luiz that would allow Mourinho to pursue Diego Costa of Atletico Madrid.
Nigerian John Obi Mikel has been very much a bit part player this season, and has seen his chances diminished even further since the arrival of £21million signing Nemanja Matic, resulting in just a few cameo substitute appearances.
Other players potentially on the way out are back up goalkeepers Hilario and Schwarzer. Mourinho is keen to bring Belgium international Thibaut Courtois back to the club from exile in Spain to compete with Petr Cech for the first team spot, which means at least one of the other two will be allowed to leave.
Many of the clubs loan players may also not return as permanent deals are sought for them. These include youngsters that promised, but never fulfilled such as Josh McEachran and Gael Kakuta, whilst Romelu Lukaku is thought to have an uneasy relationship with Mourinho and the club may well also seek to parcel him out as well.
Others, such as Ryan Bertrand at Aston Villa and Victor Moses at Liverpool, have been deemed surplus to requirements.
Mourinho is keen that the coming summer will allow him to shape the squad how he wants with a determined attempt to regain the league title in mind. The restrictions of FFP however preclude any mass buying activity without the ditching of other players.
It could be a busy summer down at the Bridge.
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