Chelsea FC: 5 Players to Watch out for Next Season

After Chelsea opted to appoint a dynamic young manager as Carlo Ancelotti's replacement, many thought that Roman Abramovich was preparing to open his checkbook once again.

But so far Chelsea have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer market as Villas-Boas continues to assess the quality of his current squad.

The Blues have enjoyed an unbeaten preseason so far but have looked uninspiring at times during their tour of Asia.

However there have been some bright sparks and a few players have emerged that could surprise the Chelsea fans by challenging for a first team place.

Villas-Boas seems to have come to the club with no preconceptions and therefore he represents a clean slate for players that failed to establish themselves during the previous regime.

Here are five players that should be ones to watch in 2011/12. 

Yossi Benayoun

One of the key reasons for Chelsea's abysmal run of results in the winter period of last season was their lack of a creative force in midfield.

It is this void that has led to Chelsea's desperate pursuit of Luka Modric but, with Tottenham determined to hang on to their prize asset, it is not yet clear as to whether the Blues will be able to capture the Croatian's signature.

If Chelsea fail to sign Modric then they may have to turn to Yossi Benayoun who has been one of the positives of the preseason campaign thus far.

A long-term injury last season prevented the diminutive playmaker from making his mark on the club's title challenge.

But he seems to have returned with a hunger to impress the new manager and to establish himself as a first-team regular.

Modric and Benayoun are very similar players and the former Liverpool man is extremely underrated.

He has the ability to take on and beat players and he can unlock a defense like no one in the current Chelsea squad.

Given a run in the first-team, Benayoun could become a very important player for Villas-Boas in the months to come.

Daniel Sturridge

While Chelsea struggled to find the net towards the end of the season, Daniel Sturridge, who was loaned out to Bolton, could not stop scoring.

But instead of giving him a run in the first team, Chelsea loaned him out to another Premier League club just as they have done with youngsters in the past.

Daniel Sturridge has real potential and out of the current strikers on the books, he is the most likely to make it work with Torres.

He is definitely sending a message to Andre Villas-Boas with his electric second-half performance in the 4-0 win over Kitchee.

Sturridge was seemingly involved in every Chelsea attack and showed that he could trick his way through defenses with relative ease.

His goal was one of the highlights of the game as he demonstrated his skill and composure in front of goal to fire Chelsea into a 4-0 lead.

There has been talk of Sturridge being involved in a possible swap deal for Modric but if he does stay, it will be hard for Villas-Boas to ignore him.

Slobodan Rajkovic

The young centre-back has actually been at Chelsea since 2007 but has been loaned out every season to a host of Dutch clubs that include PSV and FC Twente.

This has provided him with valuable first team experience and should serve him in good stead as he looks to break into the Chelsea first team.

He is a calm presence on the ball and is an extremely strong player with many seeing him as the ideal long-term replacement for John Terry.

David Luiz broke out onto the scene with aplomb last season but he still needs to work to cut the sloppy errors out of his game.

With Alex rumored to be on his way out and Ivanovic likely to be deployed at right-back, this leaves an opening for Rajkovic to break into the first team.

Whatever happens next season, the future looks bright for Chelsea in defense with Luiz and Rajkovic showing that they have the potential to become a world-class defensive pairing in the future. 

Josh McEachran

Josh McEachran has been given limited opportunities so far in his Chelsea career, mainly being used as a late substitute in Champions League games.

But the young English midfielder has shown a composure on the ball that belies his 18 years.

McEachran possesses a maturity that many young players lack and he is rarely seen to give the ball away.

It is unlikely that he will feature heavily in Villas-Boas' first team plans but it is not inconceivable that he will have a much bigger role to play next season.

Fernando Torres

Roman Abramovich shocked the footballing world when he opened his pocketbook to splash £50 million on an out-of-form Fernando Torres.

Since his arrival, Torres has received abuse and has been much-criticized for his seeming lack of impact, his difficulty to successfully link up with his new teammates and his high-profile goal drought.

Torres has lacked the sharpness and the anticipation that made him one of the world's great strikers.

But while form is temporary, class is permanent and when the floodgates finally open for "El Niño", then the goals should flow.