Thibaut Courtois – GK
The Belgian has been very heavily linked with a move away from the bridge, with Real Madrid currently firm favourites; what makes this move more inevitable is that Courtois kids are living in Madrid with his ex-partner; the Chelsea stopper has admitted this is a problem in his personal life. It would be a huge loss for the blues, as not only has he been fantastic for Chelsea, but his rumoured replacement Alisson Becker joined Liverpool last night. So most Chelsea fans will be hoping the Belgian stays put.
Marcos Alonso – LB
Marcos has been an incredible signing for Chelsea during his two years at the club, making it into the PL team of the season both seasons, and proving many of his doubters wrong, as before his blues switch he was reasonably unknown. The last two seasons he was playing at LWB, but under Sarri who plays with 4 at the back he will have to switch to LB, however Maurizio’s attacking philosophy means Alonso will still be playing quite high up the pitch a lot of the time, so I’m sure this wont be a problem for the Spaniard.
Antonio Rüdiger – CB
In my opinion Rüdiger was Chelsea’s signing of the season the last campaign and is a must starter under Sarri. It took the German a while to properly settle in at Chelsea, but once he did he truly showed his quality, especially in the FA Cup final against Manchester United, putting in debatably his best display for Chelsea. At only 25, I can only see him improving and potentially becoming a potential future captain for Chelsea.
Daniele Rugani/Andreas Christensen – CB
Chelsea have been heavily linked with young Juventus defender Rugani, the defender suits Sarri’s style to a tee. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic is rumoured to be so keen that he has personally travelled to Milan to close the deal, rumoured to be around 45 million pounds, which seems pretty expensive. Christensen had a magnificent 17/18 season. However the young talent dropped off during the second half of the season, with a number of mistakes, which led to him being dropped. Lets hope he returns to his best form next season, as it would be great to see a Chelsea academy product starting.
César Azpilicueta – RB
Azpi can play anywhere across the backline and should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Nicknamed by many as ‘MR Consistent’ the Spaniard has truly made a name for himself at Chelsea, he is now recognised as one of the best defenders in Europe. It would be incredibly foolish to not start him.
N’Golo Kante – CM
There is no question that this man should be starting this coming season (unless he leaves). The French World Cup winning maestro has since moving to Chelsea established himself as the best defensive midfielder in world football and last season even improved in the attacking side of the game, he is becoming a complete footballer. So there is no question here for me.
Jorginho – CM
Chelsea have recently acquired the services of Jorginho, who was the heart and sole of Sarri’s Napoli side, the Brazilian/Italian compliments Kante so well, everything one of the two doesn’t have the other possesses, Jorginho’s passing ability is nothing less than astonishing and will add a lot of composure to the side; so I cant wait to see how this duo play together this season.
Golovin/Pjanic/Loftus-Cheek – CM
It’s unknown to the Chelsea fan-base who will be starting in midfield with Kante and Jorginho, but these three are currently the most likely. Any of the three would be great to be perfectly honest; Juventus star Pjanic is the most highly rated among the three. Many Chelsea fans favour Ruben Loftus-Cheek as he has played in Chelsea’s academy since the Under-8s, it would be great to see the English midfielder thrive under Sarri. Lastly Golovin, the player to watch for Russia during their World Cup spell, catching the eyes of many of Europe’s elite, he has also been heavily linked with a move to the English capital.
Eden Hazard/Asensio – LW
Eden Hazard has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer, with Real Madrid again being favourites; why wont they leave us alone…
However it will take a lot for Chelsea to let go of the Belgium superstar, who has been Chelsea’s most highly rated player in recent years, becoming one of the worlds best players. Hazard has been flirting with a move to Madrid for a while now, but never has completed the move. Its unsure whether he’s doing this for an improved contract or because he actually wants the switch.
If Hazard does complete the move to the Spanish Capital, Chelsea will demand a hefty fee, which may include one of Real’s own star’s, Asensio, who may not yet be at the same level as the Belgian yet, however he has great potential. But most Chelsea fans will be hoping the Belgian stays put.
Willian/Pedro – RW
Yet another player who has been heavily linked with a move away from Chelsea. However the interest is coming from the other Spanish giants, Barcelona. Sarri and the Chelsea board will surly want to keep hold of the Brazilian, who has been one of Chelsea’s star players in recent years. If he does make the move, it’s currently not in the public domain who the replacement could be, so Pedro at the moment.
Alvaro Morata/Higuain – ST
Morata’s Chelsea career couldn’t have started any better with the Spaniard scoring for fun, his head came in handy. However he picked up a back strain, which according to the player himself he played with during the rest of the season. Well either way he totally dropped off, scoring a disappointing total of 11 PL goals during the 17/18 season.
It’s looking increasingly likely that Higuain will be a Chelsea player next season, with Sarri clearly recommending the Argentinian who played under him at Napoli where he scored goals for fun. The Next few days should be crucial in Chelsea’s striker chase.
