After a disastrous 2015-16 season that saw Chelsea finish 10th in the league table, a certain Italian manager was brought into the frame. Antonio Conte’s arrival to Chelsea last season was a comparatively low-key affair in England. It was not because the Italian tactician is not popular in the world of football but the story of Conte was eclipsed by the drama unfolding at Manchester. The Manchester war had intensified ten folds after the two clubs appointed long-term rivals Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho as their managers.
However, as he had done on four previous occasions, Antonio Conte quietly set to work and took the Chelsea team that had finished tenth the season before to the title. A season later, Chelsea are struggling to repeat their heroics and there has been immediate talk of dissatisfaction and loss of harmony at the club.
A challenge for the league title looks out of the question, to be honest, and given Chelsea’s latest exit from the League Cup, the Blues are looking extremely average. Even in the Champions League, Chelsea failed to win their group, leaving Conte with a knockout match against Barcelona next month and in the FA Cup, Chelsea needed two attempts to get past Championship side Norwich.
With Conte’s biggest problem being the lack of quality and quantity in his squad, here are three Chelsea players Conte should look to get replaced if he wishes to get his team back on track.
Pedro
The ex-Barcelona winger, signed from Spain had a fruitful season last year. However, Pedro no longer looks like the player who can provide moments of brilliance and his game has slowed down considerably. The player being north of 30 is a worrying sign for Conte and the Italian will have to move him on as soon as possible.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
The young Frenchman was brought in to replace Nemanja Matic at Chelsea. However, Bakayoko’s game in the last six months has demonstrated that he will have to improve to even replace a cone in the Chelsea midfield. Backing up one wrong decision with another is the only consistency he has shown in the middle of the park and Chelsea have a wood in the form of player to deal with. He should definitely be moved on from any club who are serious about playing football.
Michy Batshuayi
The Belgian hitman has scored 10 goals for Chelsea this season. Although the number are pretty impressive given the limited amount of time he got on the pitch, Conte has been more than dissatisfied with Batshuayi’s overall game. The Belgian has not been effective in holding the ball, he has failed to provide link-ups for his team barring a few occasions and is simply not consistent enough. Chelsea need to send him out on loan and get in a better replacement for him until he is ready.
