Players who could help the Stamford Bridge side to reach their short, and long, term goals.
With Roman Abramovich set to once again spend big to improve his Chelsea squad, and with Jose Mourinho said to be on his way back to Stamford Brige here are a list of young talents, some of whom are already at the West London club but have not had the chance to prove themselves and some who the Russian billionaire should look to sign this summer.
Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina)
With Arsenal said to be pursuing the Montenegro international and Fiorentina no doubt struggling to keep hold of the 23 year old it may make sense for Chelsea to make their interest in the Serie A striker known.
The cultured forward, who can play in a number of positions, could be the ideal man to spearhead the Chelsea strike-force and could be more than capable of playing off the likes of Eden Hazard and Juan Mata in the Blues attack.
With 27 goals in his last 55 Italian top tier appearances the former Partizan Belgrade man has matured into an excellent prospect and could be a very good bit of business to consider this summer and perhaps far more cost effective than huge money moves for the likes of Radamel Falcao or Edinson Cavani, after all having forked out £50m for Fernando Torres is it wise to simply throw a chequebook at the problem again?
Romelu Lukaku
Talking of strengthening the Chelsea attack, perhaps it’s time the Premier League club gave Belgian powerhouse Romelu Lukaku a decent run in the first team.
Yes the former Anderlecht man had an average first season at Stamford Bridge but his 14 goal haul on loan at West Brom, outscoring all Chelsea’s stars, proves the 20 year old is ready to make an impact at the highest level.
Chelsea spent a big sum on Lukaku, who at the time was considered one of the best players of his age group, so to not even give the player a proper look-in would be most peculiar.
Luke Shaw (Southampton)
The Southampton left-back is reportedly a Chelsea fan and would presumably jump at the chance of a move to the club. He could also be the ideal man to take the mantle from Ashley Cole when the England man’s career comes to a close.
Shaw has been a pivotal player at St Mary’s this term, belying his years the 17 year old has made 22 starts this season despite his previous first team experience amounting to just 14 minutes of an FA Cup encounter last season.
Has already had call-up to the England Under 21 set-up and clearly Southampton are known for being open to selling their young talents as evidenced by the sales of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The teenager would be a very intelligent acquisition and very much along the lines of the club’s youthful transfer policy.
Thibaut Courtois
Whilst there is no denying that Petr Cech is still one of the best keepers in Europe that is however no reason to not give Belgian international Courtois his chance to shine.
The 20 year old has had made an excellent impression at the Vicente Calderon, this term helping Diego Simeone’s side to the best defensive record in La Liga, no mean feat considering the big two.
Courtois has conceded just 25 goals in 32 matches thus far this term and last season guided Atletico Madrid to a Europea League success. Chelsea may feel compelled to use the custodian as bait to land striker Radamel Falcao but to do so would perhaps be a long term error.
Finding a solid dependable keeper is not an easy task and whilst clearly Cech is a quality keeper, and by no means in the latter stages of his career, Courtois does still have ten years on the Polish international.
Why not bring Courtois back to Chelsea to challenge Cech for his spot, he is far superior to the likes of Ross Turnbull and Hilario and given the chance may well surpass the current Chelsea number one.
Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen)
Schurrle could be another excellent addition, and by all accounts he is closing in on a Chelsea switch. The German is comfortable on the ball, a quick thinker and a player who can play across the attack and as 22 has already made a big splash at the highest level.
The Bayer Leverkusen man has almost 150 top tier club matches to his name as well as 22 national team caps and it’s with the German national team that Schurrle would have first captured Chelsea’s attention, impressing in early run-outs with Die Mannschaft scoring seven goals for his country despite having started just five international matches.
The youngster could well make a significant impact in the Premier League and has the nous to make things happen, very capable of making something out of nothing and much like the aforementioned Jovetic is a player who should gel well with Hazard, Oscar, Mata and co.