3 Players Chelsea Should Let Go In The Summer -Featuring Former Arsenal Captain

The January transfer window came and went by and now all the teams will get started on their plans for the upcoming window in the summer of 2017. Not many clubs like to invest heavily in the winter period, possibly because of the lack of time that can be afforded to the new signing to bed in and hence prefer the July transfer window which gives the incoming players proper time to get used to conditions, match practice from the pre-season. And when some players come in, some have to depart to make way.

Premier League leaders Chelsea sold three big players in the recently concluded window with Oscar and John Obi Mikel moving to the cash-rich Chinese Super League, while Branislav Ivanovic also departed from the Stamford Bridge to join up with Zenit St. Petersburg. And there will be more high-profile exits expected in the summer window, as Antonio Conte looks to build a team in his own image. Here are three players who should be sold by the Blues ahead of the next season:

Michy Batshuayi

The Belgian, despite impressing on every opportunity he has been given, just seems like doesn’t fit into Conte’s plans. The fact that Diego Costa has been in the form of his life hasn’t helped Batshuayi’s cause but the Italian has used Pedro and Eden Hazard as false-nine during Costa’s absence in the league, ahead of Batshuayi and Chelsea were even linked with a move for the aging Fernando Llorente in January.

With Alvaro Morata continuously being linked with a move to the Stamford Bridge, Batshuayi’s future at Chelsea seems bleaker by the minute. There is no question about his huge potential and he could become a big striker for any team he plays for, but Batshuayi just doesn’t fit into the scheme of things for Conte and will likely be the first man out of the doors in the summer.

Cesc Fabregas

Another player who has shown his capabilities each time he has taken the field for Chelsea this term, but continues to be overlooked is Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard has been top notch each time he has come on from the bench and has had great effect, but with Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante going so strong in the middle of the park, Fabregas has hardly been afforded a regular run of match-ups.

And the fact that he doesn’t contribute the same amount on the defensive side of the game is another factor that goes against him as the 3-4-3 system that Conte utilizes at Chelsea demands a lot of hard yards from the two central midfielders. A lack of game time and the unsuitability to the playing style could very well conspire in Fabregas leaving the Stamford Bridge in the near future.

John Terry

The club captain and legend is in the final stages of his career and it all looks like heading towards a summer exit for the 36-year old, having not received a new contract offer on his existing deal that will expire at the end of the season. Terry started the season under Conte as first-choice, but following a brief spell out on the sidelines due to an injury, he has failed to make a comeback in the first-team.

The excellent form of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill has meant the Englishman has been hardly required. And with Kurt Zouma fit and raring to again, along with the highly impressive Nathan Ake, who returned to the squad earlier in January cutting short a loan spell with Bournemouth, it doesn’t look like Terry will play much till the end of the season.

Plus, the imminent return of Andreas Christensen from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer looks to be the death knell for the club’s longest serving player with a stint in the lucrative Chinese Super League or the Major League Soccer in the USA on the cards.