Courtois: Along with De Gea, one of the two most promising young keepers in the world. Had a shitty season last year, and his distribution isn't as good as it should be (yet). Suppoedly had some ructions with our GK coach about training methods, but we'll see what happens this year. Absolutely irreplaceable.
Begovic: Would be nice to keep, he's a good backup. Will probably leave though.
Azpilecueta: People criticize him for not attacking enough, but a) he's a right back playing at LB, and b) he covers JT's side, which prevents him pushing up too much. He is actually very decent when he does go up, and as we transition to a new defense I'd expect to see more of it.
Zouma: Was just starting to show what an absolutely class player he was when the ACL injury happened. Holding our breath a bit on this one.
JT: Irreplaceable this year. He probably won't play that much this season, but having someone in the dressing room with his passion and influence is something you can't really buy.
Cahill: I've never been a big fan. He can actually be a damn good defender but he has a horrible habit of letting attackers get away from him and then throwing in dramatic last ditch tackles to stop them. When it works he looks great, but it doesn't always work. Would keep unless we can bring in a top drawer CB. Would probably keep even then for one more season until Christensen returns next year.
Rahman: Showed a few signs of being good, and some signs of being horrible. Very young, would definitely keep.
Miazga: I have no idea why we bought him, and equally no idea whether we should keep him. Matt mystifies me.
Ivanovich: I'm done with him quite frankly. Filipe Luis never managed to force his way into the squad because Dave and Brana were just incredible that year, but last season was one of the most wretched displays I've seen from a Chelsea full back. In honesty I put most of the blame on Mourinho for letting it go on for as long as he did, by the time he started being replaced in the starting 11 his confidence was totally destroyed. May well play CB this year, but I don't want to see him at RB any more. He was personally responsible for a LOT of goals. Would sell immediately, while thanking him for the many happy memories.
Matic: Managed to go from perhaps the best DM in the world to a complete muppet over the space of a summer. I'm still unsure how this happened, but he does tend to look a bit gormless so I'm hoping it was just some confidence thing. Matic on form is absolutely impossible to stop, as he showed by making Yaya Toure look absolutely pedestrian a few years ago when he was otherwise dominating everyone. He has this strange ability to just start striding through midfield with the ball stuck to his feet that is quite mesmerizing, although it happens quite rarely. Seriously praying he comes good this year.
Mikel: He scores when he wants, lol. Had a nice resurgence last year, but in all honesty should have been sold several seasons ago. I still suspect Jose made a horrible mistake turning him into a DM.
Fabregas: Creates so much its ridiculous really. Had the same bad spell as everyone else in the team not called Willian, but was coming good again towards the end. Needs protecting of course, but having a player who can casually flick a ball to basically anywhere on the pitch he wants is something pretty special. 100% keep.
Oscar: People hate on him a lot, and I've grumbled about him plenty, but he's an incredibly talented guy. There was a time last season where he had some injuries but whenever he came on things just clicked together. Needs a great season this year though to silence his critics. Would not sell him though.
Willian: Ah sweet Willian, when we were trying our hardest to look like the most disorganized and craven bunch of pub team players in England, you stepped up and fought for the team, even when you were the only one trying. One of the most underappreciated and misunderstood players in England. Yes, he works very hard, no this doesn't make him a 'workhorse'. He's an incredibly talented AM with superb ball control, excellent creativity and imagination and as we've just discovered he takes a mean free kick too. His one weakness is not scoring regularly from open play, if he did then we wouldn't ever be having these discussions about him. Would absolutely keep and also probably build a small statue of him at the new stadium with a plaque reading 'The Lone Hero of 15/16'.
Hazard: Oh Eden, why did you seemingly forget how to play football when we needed you the most? Ah well, he came back to be mean to both Spurs and Liverpool so all is forgiven. The most talented player Chelsea have ever had on their books, anyone who wants to sell him should be taken out into a field and beaten to death with hardcopies of The Dummies Guide To Football.
Pedro: Strange one. His first game was amazing, then he became largely shit, but in fairness this went hand in hand with the rest of the team doing the same. I actually like rat-face, I think a team with an in-form Hazard, Willian and Pedro running at them are in for some very dark times indeed. Would definitely keep.
Loftus-Cheek: Could be the next Pogba, or could be another Nathaniel Chalobah. Needs more pitch time, and ideally might want to think about not looking quite so laidback all the time, as it can easily be mistaken for laziness. Definite keep.
Kenedy: Seriously excited about this one and was left absolutely astonished, mystified and horrified by Jose's apparent decision to try and turn him into a left full back. I hope Conte never gets any idea quite that stupid into his head. Kenedy is brilliant, which his route straight past the loan roundabout and into the first team illustrated very clearly. His dribbling is superb and he's deadly running at defenders. Could be a future great for us, would not sell under any circumstances.
Costa: Turned into a whiny little bitch for part of last year, but hopefully back to his normal bastardly best now. If he played for you you'd love him. Obvious keep.
Remy: Better than people give him credit for but about as lucky as a winner of free tickets to a Michael Barrymore pool party. Every time Costa got injured you could guarantee Remy would immediately pick up a knock the next week. Time to go.
Traore: A very, very good attacker, and another kid I wouldn't part with for anything. Still rough like all strikers his age, but has absolute bucket loads of talent and potential. Would be deeply surprised if he isn't a £50m rated player within a couple of seasons.
Not going to go into the rest of the promising youth players because there's too many. As always the question remains whether the manager will give them a route into the team. I have absolutely no doubts that we have the single best youth roster of any team in England and quite possibly Europe (which also means the world of course). Solanke is the one on everyones lips at the moment as there's rumblings about him leaving, but fingers crossed this will blow over.
In summary, the pieces are in place for a very, very bright future, despite the hysteria caused by last years collapse. We need one or two new midfielders to hopefully replace Mikel and cover for Matic in case his decline is permanent. Probably need a new RB, and a new top quality CB would be very welcome especially if Zouma's injury causes any long term problems. Could do with a new striker to support and challenge Costa while Traore develops. If the summer ended with us only having brought in Nainggolan or a similar replacement, I wouldn't be too worried, but would expect a fairly active summer as Conte shaped the team how he wants it.
