It has been a strange week for Chelsea fans in the Football Transfer Tavern who on Monday had to put up with taunts from Arsenal fans who were of course celebrating the capture of Petr Cech from the Blues.
In what is undoubtedly a fantastic capture for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners, this type of signing could push Chelsea’s London rivals a lot closer to them by the time the end of the 2015/16 campaign comes around.
That said, a few days have passed and Blues fans will now have to grow used to seeing their now former goalkeeper adorn red instead of blue and our Chelsea fanatics are willing the signing of Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic on to lessen the pain somewhat.
The Potters’ Bosnian international stopper is expected to be trading the Britannia Stadium for Stamford Bridge and all of our Chelsea regulars are in agreement that he is a fine number two to have at Jose Mourinho’s disposal.
Some of our Chelsea supporting punters are boldly claiming they’re not so upset at Cech moving at all, simply born out of the fact that they boast arguably the best goalkeeper in world football right now, Manuel Neuer aside in Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian international took to his first season in English football last term like a duck to water and there is no doubt that he will continue to impress for however long Chelsea wish to keep him in West London.
But what about the rest of Jose Mourinho’s starting eleven that last year looked something near perfection?
We’ve asked our Chelsea regulars to devise a dream starting eleven that they could field next season. Do you agree with their choices?
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Click on the image below to reveal the dream starting XI for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho next season.
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Thibaut Courtois
The reason Petr Cech ended up leaving Stamford Bridge but lets not rib the boy about it.
Since flourishing in an elongated loan spell away at Atletico Madrid, Chelsea simply couldn’t further ignore the talents he could bring to the Blues first team.
Boasting a special kind of swagger in his game, no save seems too stressful for the Belgian whose calm assurance between the sticks has already endeared him massively to the Stamford Bridge faithful.
Still capable of a mistake or two – I mean, who isn’t – with the Charlie Adam lob representing one of those occasions, it’s remarkable to think that despite his height and kudos in the game, he is still only 23-years-old.
With goalkeepers typically boasting longer careers than their outfield counterparts, Chelsea fans should grow used to Courtois keeping net for a long while yet and my word, they’re not complaining.
Branislav Ivanovic
A model of consistency, there’s an argument that Branislav Ivanovic is right up there alongside Gary Neville as one of the best right back’s to have ever graced the Premier League in its modern format.
Thus it’s strange to think that it took the Serb a little while to get going at Stamford Bridge but when he did, Chelsea fans became used to tough displays, rugged tackling and pacey raids up the right flank.
Ivanovic simply has to be one of the first names down on Jose Mourinho’s team-sheet with the player rarely making mistakes and running himself into the ground for the Chelsea cause.
He truly is one of the indispensable cogs in this Blues machine right now.
Raphael Varane
Gary Cahill hardly put a foot wrong in Chelsea’s title winning 2014/15 campaign but there is still a section of Blues fans who would rather a top class foreign international import brought in, in this position.
For the last couple of transfer windows now, the tabloids have often spoke about how Chelsea need to start going about finding a long-term replacement for John Terry and these stories have continued despite the Blues bringing in the young Kurt Zouma to great effect recently.
Terry had the season of his life last term and has admitted himself that he is still willing to test himself at the very highest level for the foreseeable future.
That said, there will come the day where Chelsea simply need another defender to replace him and one man Blues fans would love to sign is Raphael Varane.
Coached by Mourinho in his time at the Bernabeu of course, the Blues boss gave the French international his big break but it must be said that if Manchester United do land Sergio Ramos this summer, a deal could be truly off the cards.
John Terry
As alluded to on our previous slide, after enjoying the season of his life last term, John Terry is as pumped up as he has ever been in a Chelsea shirt.
Much like Ivanovic, Terry was a model of consistency in 2014/15 making it hard to believe that the likes of the so-called ‘Interim One’ Rafael Benitez ever thought he was finished as a top level centre back.
Chelsea will have to seek a replacement for him one day but Terry is one of those names on the team-sheet that opposition strikers mustn’t like seeing.
A winner with full of grit and determination, nobody has fought for the Chelsea cause like John Terry has in recent times, epitomising the spirit and fight of manager Jose Mourinho.
Cesar Azpilicueta
One of Rafael Benitez’s favoured selections during his short spell in charge in West London, it’s a credit to Cesar Azpilicueta that he has managed to stay in Chelsea’s starting eleven under the perfectionist himself in Jose Mourinho.
Ultimately making Ashley Cole surplus to requirements, Azpilicueta now finds himself as a left back after beginning his career at right back with the Spanish international one of the unsung heroes in this Blues machine.
Not making many errors at all, Azpilicueta is a confident ball playing defender who can also get stuck in to boot.
Able to cover at right back also, the Spaniard is versatile – something Jose Mourinho appreciates – and isn’t being upgraded upon any time soon.
Nemanja Matic
It’s hard to remember Nemanja Matic failing in his first spell at Chelsea, such has been the calibre of his performances in his rejuvenated second spell spent at Stamford Bridge.
Brought in from Benfica a few transfer windows back, the Serbian international hasn’t looked back at all and like Claude Makelele before him, has even got the majority of supporters now calling the defensive midfield role the ‘Matic role’.
We’ve grown used to Matic breaking up opposition attacks with his long legs, not to mention his striding runs out of the midfield with Chelsea looking that much more secure when he is playing instead of Ramires or John Obi Mikel.
Performing the nitty gritty tasks while keeping Chelsea ticking over, this kind of role seems to have become so much more important in the modern game with Matic setting the benchmark in terms of his consistent performances.
Cesc Fabregas
A former figure of hate amongst Chelsea supporters, Cesc Fabregas is now truly one of their own after scooping his first Premier League title at the very first attempt last term.
Boasting his own ‘magic hat’ chant to boot, expect the newly positive Fabregas relationship to intensify even more next term after Petr Cech’s switch to the Gunners this summer.
The one criticism Chelsea fans have of Fabregas is that he seems to fade in the second half of league campaigns but who can forget his contribution at the beginning of 2014/15?
Setting up Andre Schurrle in majestic style on the opening weekend against Burnley, Fabregas ultimately endeared himself to Chelsea fans as the creative midfielder they were looking for in immediate style.
He will continue to get better next season, such is the talent and opening-up-of-defences ability he possesses.
Antoine Griezmann
The man every Chelsea fans and his dog wants Jose Mourinho to capture this summer is Atletico Madrid’s French international forward Antoine Griezmann.
After making a switch to the Vicente Calderon from Real Sociedad last summer, the Frenchman initially found it harder to get on the score-sheet but later in the La Liga campaign, he simply couldn’t stop scoring.
Full of flair, trickery and pace, Griezmann was deployed as a forward under Diego Simeone last term but if he concludes his £30 million+ reported switch this summer, expect him to play on the right or left flank with Diego Costa having already made the lone centre forwards’s position his own.
Capable of fulfilling the winger role, Griezmann is seen as a finishing touch kind of signing and somebody that would usurp Juan Cuadrado right away!
Oscar
He wasn’t at his free flowing best in 2014/15 but there is still no doubting that when Oscar is on song, he is a brilliant addition in this Chelsea team.
Ultimately one of the players that has been brought in at Stamford Bridge while transforming the way Chelsea play, we saw the Blues’ attacking flair in abundance during that away fixture at Swansea City last season in which they tore the Swans’ defensive rearguard apart.
Oscar is a classic number 10 in every sense and should be scoring more than the goal haul of eight he registered in all competitions last season.
Aside from his goals however, Oscar is an assist merchant and when played in this role, he is one of the Premier League’s stars who is more difficult to stop when playing at the peak of his powers.
Eden Hazard
What can we say about the PFA Player of the Year that hasn’t already been said?
Well, the 24-year-old is perhaps the best player in world football of that particular age and we have grown used to a far more consistent Eden Hazard last season.
Trusted in abundance by Jose Mourinho, Eden Hazard can go out and be what he wants to be and certainly looks like he can perhaps emulate the very greatest names in the game in the coming years.
Skilful, tricky and with pace to burn, you never really see Hazard lose the ball with it seemingly glued to his feet and it is these abilities that make him Chelsea’s go-to man when the going gets tough.
A simply wonderful talent that will only get better with each passing season.
Diego Costa
He holds the Premier League trophy in his right hand in our image above with this title triumph for Chelsea ultimately being scooped due to the goals in which Diego Costa managed to plunder during his first season in English football.
Landing 20 Premier League goals in total, Costa was devastating at the beginning of the campaign and Chelsea fans have been that much more thankful to the Spanish international given the fact they’ve got it wrong with so many big name strikers before him.
Mateja Kezman, Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres have all failed before him but Costa has proved he’s too clinical in front of goal to suffer the flop fate of the aforementioned Blues failures.
Boasting a spiky edge to his game to boot, there are times where Costa does go too far but it is these street fighter-like abilities that set him apart as one of the most feared opponents in Premier League football.
The bad news for everybody else is that he’ll only get better next season.
