Chelsea could let five long-serving players leave Stamford Bridge
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will hand manager Antonio Conte £100 million in transfer funds this January, in order to strengthen the club’s chances of returning to the top four.
Conte was appointed this summer, in a bid to get the Blues back on track after a disastrous campaign last season in which the west London club finished 10th in the table.
However, the Italian has been alarmed by the club’s performances so far this season, despite making a strong start to the campaign. Back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal were a warning sign for the Italian, whose side are currently sixth in the Premier League.
Chelsea missed out some key defensive targets in the summer, with moves for Kalidou Koulibaly and Leonardo Bonucci failing, but Conte has not given up on his pursuit of the latter, from Juventus.
Gary Cahill, Oscar, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas’ future at Stamford Bridge could come into doubt, if Conte spends all £100 million of his January budget, while there are question marks over Willian’s future at the club.
Cahill has had a questionable start to the campaign, while Fabregas continues to struggle to get regular game time under Conte and Matic is being linked with a January move to Juventus.
Conte wants Willian – a firm favourite with the fans – to start scoring more goals from open play, and to not be reliant on scoring from free-kicks. The Brazil midfielder rarely has a bad game but fails to deliver on the big occasions.
And with the futures of some big-name Chelsea players considered, Conte is ready to make a move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Javier Pastore, to bolster his options upfront.
Conte and Abramovich met at the club’s Cobham training ground earlier in the week to discuss where the manager felt the club needed to strengthen, and the Russian has seemingly agreed with the Chelsea boss and will be given a hefty backing in January.
