Dramatic wasn’t the word the last time Chelsea took the field with an incredible 3-3 draw played out against Everton at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.
With Ramiro Funes Mori striking what he and everybody else thought was a winner for the Toffees in stoppage time, there was still time for John Terry to level up the scores on 98 minutes – a goal that was later revealed as being offside.
The overall conclusion however is that Chelsea are without doubt in a relegation battle and having dropped points to both West Bromwich Albion and Everton home lately, wins for the likes of Newcastle United and Swansea City are only dragging the Blues into further trouble.
A few new signatures would help lighten the mood in West London at the moment but despite Alexandre Pato and Alex Teixeira having been continuously mentioned as potential new arrivals this month, time is running out without any news of concrete bids from the Blues.
That said, tabloids such as Metro are claiming that Pato could still arrive in time to make his debut against London rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday while Teixeira has welcomed links to the Blues of late claiming he is flattered.
Chelsea fans would like even firmer indications of their potential arrivals but we’re bringing presumptuous today in seeing how they’d fit in in this current Blues starting XI.
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Click on the image below to reveal the dream Chelsea XI including both Alexandre Pato and Alex Teixeira.
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Thibaut Courtois
According to a report by The Sun today, Thibaut Courtois is one of four players who will be part of a high-profile mass exodus from Stamford Bridge in the summer.
While this is probably sensationalism at its best, what Chelsea fans must ask themselves is who exactly is truly dedicated to the Blues’ cause deep down?
With there undoubtedly being a broken dressing room during Jose Mourinho’s tenure earlier in the campaign, is Courtois one of those players ready to commit to the Blues by remaining in the summer?
Only time will tell but we all know that he is an absolutely sensational goalkeeper on top form.
Branislav Ivanovic
This season, Branislav Ivanovic’s performances have pretty much proved that he’s past it but for now, there’s little other option at right back and with no sign of any potential replacement coming in, he stays in this eleven.
Baba Rahman has played some game at left back this term with Cesar Azpilicueta reverting to right back but with the Ghanaian having flattered to deceive in his Blues career to date, Ivanovic is still trusted by Guus Hiddink for his experience.
Gary Cahill
Gary Cahill has won every domestic honour plus a Champions League and Europa League since joining the Blues from Bolton Wanderers and he was absolutely fantastic last season as the Blues blew everybody before them away in an unforgettable campaign.
But this term, he’s struggled like so many others.
Kurt Zouma has been in the team more often this term but with the French international still erratic at times, Cahill has the experience and will be needed between now and the end of the season to dig the Blues out of their current hole.
John Terry
Scoring that dramatic last gasp equaliser against Everton on Saturday afternoon, this of course wasn’t the first time that John Terry has broke Toffees hearts late on in the same fixture.
A sense of relief more than anything that Chelsea were going to finish with at least a point, Terry is Mr Chelsea and strode into the Stamford Bridge crowd to let off some steam at the end of the game.
While Chelsea supporters would’ve absolutely loved that moment, they know that they need to be recording wins and nothing else to dig themselves out of trouble.
There’s no doubt that Terry will be in this Chelsea side between now and May time to help give them the best opportunity of doing so.
Cesar Azpilicueta
He’s been Mr consistent as an unsung hero in this Chelsea team for the past couple of seasons but Cesar Azpilicueta has struggled himself so far this season.
Levelling out and returning to his higher standards more lately in Guus Hiddink’s second coming, Azpilicueta usually keeps everything simple as one of those full backs who is just as good going forward as he is remembering his defensive duties.
With Baba Rahman having not ripped up any trees in his handful of starts so far this term, Azpilicueta has nothing to worry about regarding the retention of his place in the Blues’ best starting eleven.
Nemanja Matic
Some rival fans in the bar have gone as far to call Nemanja Matic a flop so far this campaign but this may be a tad harsh considering he’s been deemed the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League over the past two seasons.
Clearly one of those Blues stars who struggled in the Jose Mourinho regime of earlier in the season, Matic started the game against Everton at the weekend but was withdrawn for Oscar in the 55th minute.
With John Obi Mikel having realised something of a renaissance in recent weeks with a standout performance away at Crystal Palace, Matic has to show what he’s made of to stay in the team.
Cesc Fabregas
It was pretty much rock bottom for Chelsea supporters when they saw Cesc Fabregas sit as part of a Facebook Q&A with Thierry Henry a few weeks back where the Spaniard didn’t appear to be standing up for his team.
Since then, Fabregas has been attempting to win back the support of the Blues faithful that will always see him as an ex-Arsenal captain and he went about doing so in the right way with a goal that pegged Everton back at the weekend.
We all know that Fabregas is a top, top player on his day but he really needs to stamp out these spells where he seems to go within himself in order to prove he’s consistent enough over the duration of an entire league campaign.
Willian
Undoubtedly the best performing Chelsea player in a hugely forgettable season, Willian has stepped up to the plate far more often that any of his other Blues colleagues.
Having always been an energetic player, Willian gets up and down the field remarkably well and will always chip in with goals, what with his deadly accuracy from free-kicks.
With Eden Hazard having completely gone off the boil so far this season, thank god that Willian has kept his usual standards up because in Oscar and Pedro, they haven’t really been at the races for long enough to be considered acceptable in the eyes of Chelsea supporters either.
Alex Teixeira
So in the overall essence of where do Chelsea go from here, one glimpse at the future could be in the shape and form of this man Alex Teixeira.
The current jewel in the crown of Shakhtar Donetsk’s attacking ranks right now, Teixeira has scored an incredible 67 goals in 146 Ukrainian league appearances for Shakhtar and that kind of form is akin to Frank Lampard!
Still remarkably yet to be capped by the senior international Brazilian team, a transfer to Chelsea would only heighten his prospects of getting into Dunga’s side.
The latest on his immediate situation is that the player has welcomed transfer links with the Blues this month while we already know that Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu would sanction the move on his own part.
Teixeira claimed: “It’s great to have a club like Chelsea interested in me. I always try to do my job well and play to my best.
Pedro
As mentioned on our Willian slide, Pedro hasn’t had the impact everybody might have expected him to have in his first full season in England but this doesn’t mean he’s a write off.
Having been part of such a solid dressing room at Barcelona down the years, it was always going to be tough integrating into a team in transition but on his day, Pedro is incredibly tricky for opposition defenders to live with.
Able to turn on a sixpence, Pedro will always win free-kicks in those great areas of the pitch for Willian to cause damage but the Chelsea supporters would like to see a little more from their Spanish international given his calibre.
With Eden Hazard potentially expected to be moving on in the summer, surely Pedro will be guaranteed a spot in the starting eleven if no new replacement is sought.
Alexandre Pato
And so, here’s the inclusion of the other man on Chelsea’s radar right now – Alexandre Pato.
The former golden boy of Brazilian football, Pato started life at AC Milan so well but lost his way, travelling back to his South American homeland with his tail between his legs.
But in a second coming to Europe, Chelsea seems like a good fit to get his career back on track. Diego Costa’s whereabouts next season seem to be very much up in the air with Atletico Madrid reportedly still sniffing around despite a transfer ban and Paris Saint-Germain’s David Luiz tapping the Spanish international up recently.
With Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao also not long-term options up top for the Blues, the path seems to be opening up for a new striking hero at Stamford Bridge next term and perhaps that could be Pato.
Scoring nine times in 30 games for current club Corinthians and 19 times in 59 appearances in a loan spell with Sao Paulo spent between 2014 and 2015, it’s hardly groundbreaking and a transfer back to Europe is clearly a gamble.
But for any club that can hone his talents in the right way, who knows, he could be a force again considering he’s still 26-years-old despite it feeling like he’s been around forever!
