Chelsea FC Transfer News: 5 Players Chelsea FC Should Sell & 5 to Replace Them

January has rolled around again, and it's time for the rumours to start flowing. Many have been linked with coming in and going out.

AVB has been put under a lot of pressure recently about rebuilding the squad, with many requesting it be done within the summer window just gone and this January, which simply is not enough time.

So which players are at risk of leaving Stamford Bridge in January and which players are likely to come in?

Alex

Alex seems to be on the way out in this window as the start of AVB's rebuilding process, and according to recent reports on Sky Sports, Alex looks to be heading towards QPR.

The apparent falling-out that he has had with AVB could be a godsend as it might kickstart a switch in power from players to manager, as it rightfully should be. It has been clear for a while now that Alex isn't in Chelsea's future plans. Ever since the mistake he made against West Brom, he has barely made the squad, with veteran Paulo Ferreira now ahead of him.

I've had many Chelsea fans say they're upset with Alex leaving. However, I can't see any negative impact that this could have on the squad.

He's not as good as he once was, I know the cliché is a player can't become bad over night, but in this case I think it has happened.

I remember when Cristiano Ronaldo was still at United and Alex even managed to outrun him to the ball. I don't see that same instinct in him anymore nor the bite he once had that would make him climb above forwards to win the ball. This is the main reason why I think he won't be able to call himself a Chelsea player anymore after the transfer window.

Gary Cahill

I am a massive fan of Cahill’s; he has everything a defender should have and a bit more. If you look back at England defenders in the recent past, none of them have as much strength on the ball. Look at Campbell, Keown and Adams—all world-class defenders but with limited ball skills.

Gary Cahill isn't at the quality of those defenders, but that's not to say he won’t be in the future.

Chelsea could hopefully wrap this deal up for a bargain price. According to Sky Sports, Chelsea have agreed to a fee of around £5 million for the Trotters player. How often can a team get an England international for £5 million? This is the very definition of a bargain.

This could also have a positive effect on David Luiz. AVB could finally push Luiz up into the midfield, unleashing his creative abilities, thus demolishing the reason for Chelsea to purchase another creative midfielder.

To summarise, Cahill is the perfect replacement for Alex.

Florent Malouda

To change Chelsea's philosophy completely, Chelsea need to get rid of the deadwood such as Alex and Anelka. Unfortunately, Malouda is becoming one of them too. Once one of Chelsea's best individual players, he has now lost the explosiveness and strength that he once used to burst past Nemenja Vidic and cross for Joe Cole to set us on our way to the double.

What Malouda used to do on a weekly basis doesn't appear to be in his repertoire lately.

Under Ancelotti, Malouda had a knack of finding the spaces between the midfield and defence of our opponents. This position has since been taken over by Juan Mata, and Malouda seems to be inept at changing his game to get himself back into the Chelsea side.

With Malouda now surplus to requirements, it would be wise to try and cash in on him while he can still attract the interest of other clubs.

Kevin De Bruyne

One of Belgium’s many young talents, he has caught Chelsea's eye in the past and has only increased their interest since he impressed against them in the Champions League.

Reports on Goal.com say that De Bruyne is making himself available for a transfer to Chelsea, but it's not clear when it will be. This is great news for Blues fans as he is the ideal replacement for Malouda. He is technically gifted with a great eye for a pass, but arguably his greatest attribute is his ability to take on players with ease.

I'm not sure how much a player like this would cost, but since he is still playing in Belgium I can't see a fee of any more than £10 million. Considering he could be at Chelsea for 10 to12 years, that would be easily worth the money.

Jose Bosingwa

I don't think anyone can question Bosingwa's attacking ability, but then again, no one can say Bosingwa can defend. Let's face it, Bosingwa is even more of a liability at the back than David Luiz. Primarily, a right-back is supposed to defend—look at Ashley Cole, he is undoubtedly the best one-on-one left-back in the world. But the right-back position has been a weakness ever since Ferreira passed his prime.

Bosingwa has been susceptible to nearly every player he has come up against, and I've had enough. His injury problems are behind him, but he isn't the player he was in his first season.

Branislav Ivanovic is now the much better option. He has become so confident that he can even cross with the outside of his boot. Remember Lampard's goal against Blackburn? Ivanovic made a world-class cross with the outside of his foot—something you would expect from the likes of Dani Alves.

Keeping Ivanovic's presence in mind, Bosingwa has performed worse than Paulo Ferreira this season. Ferreira had Bale in his pocket when Chelsea played Spurs, but Bosingwa was taken apart from him. I'm not saying Ferreira should be put ahead of him, but if he is performing better than the so-called first choice right-back, something is vastly wrong.

Samuel Inkoom

Some people would say Van der Wiel would be the replacement, but his pending transfer to Valencia creates an extremely hard situation if Chelsea were to attract him to West London. Then one might argue Cesar Azpilicueta, but he has just signed for Marseille. So then next best, and possibly equal, option would be Samuel Inkoom.

The young Ghanaian is currently having some issues at Dnipro, where he recently transferred to from Basel, according to reports at Goal.com. This is golden news for Chelsea as they desperately need to build a formidable defence. With Inkoom's current situation, it would be ideal to swoop fast to beat other clubs to his signature.

The hustle and bustle defender caused a lot of interest before his transfer to Basel and could potentially cause a lot more if the rumours are true.

Due to his recent transfer, the cost of his next could be a vast amount more, so I've got no idea how much a potential deal would be. But if a player is good enough, I say go get him!

Salomon Kalou

Personally, I love Kalou. I find his personality and attitude towards playing delightful. The problem with him is he doesn't score enough goals. He the chips in with important goals, but again, just not enough.

When Chelsea bought him he was knocking in goals left, right and centre in the Eredivisie, but the difference between the two leagues is now massive. Unfortunately, with his lack of goals, he has now been converted to almost a wide player.

Kalou tends to do all the hard work when on the ball, however he struggles with his end product, whether it be a goal or a cross. This isn't something unfamiliar with Chelsea—remember Shaun Wright-Phillips? With the lack of end product, it is extremely hard to succeed at such a top club.

This is the reason is why I feel his future probably lies away from the club. According to Goal.com, Arsenal are willing to take Kalou but for a shockingly low sum. But I say he needs to go for Chelsea to let Lukaku get more minutes on the pitch.

Eden Hazard

As you can probably tell, my main focus on the replacements is adding more creativity to the Chelsea ranks. I'm not saying that Hazard would be a direct replacement for Kalou, but he is more than good enough to take over the position.

He is another great Belgium prospect. One thing Hazard has on his side is the European experience that he grasps firmly. He and Joe Cole have been Lille's top performers this season in Europe, and he doesn't look like he'll be staying in France for much longer.

He is destined for great things, and hopefully Chelsea can reap the rewards of his class.

Something that Chelsea has in their favour is that they are starting to have quite the collection of Belgium players and with these familiar faces, they might just be able to persuade him to choose West London.

Jon Obi Mikel

Now, defensively, Mikel is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world. However, he is not the type of player on the ball that Chelsea want; Romeu is.

Romeu has come straight into the Chelsea squad and looked at home; his outstanding on-the-ball abilities reflect his training at Barcelona.

Mikel likes to take his time on the ball and play it safe, either square or behind—he is one of the culprits for Chelsea playing so slow. But with Romeu we have a player who has everything possible for a holding player and only 20 years old.

If we were to keep Mikel, he would have to settle to be the second-string holding player and possibly third if Essien's return is successful, though he should probably play a more attacking role as he's good enough.

Mikel could still attract quite a hefty transfer fund for his replacement. With Chelsea covered in that position quite well, it would be wise to replace Mikel with a more creative offensive player.

Cheick Tiote

I'm not a fan of many Newcastle players. But there is one exception, and that is Cheick Tiote. This is one great find from Newcastle and one who's attracting a lot of interest. Chelsea need to act fast to fend off all opposition. It feels like I'm constantly writing that, but it's true.

In my last slide I said Chelsea need to go for a more attacking, creative player, and I class Tiote as one.

He proves constantly, in a white and black shirt, his attacking prowess with long, powerful runs and searching passes. The possibility of having Tiote in a midfield that already contains Ramires, Essien and Romeu is mouthwatering.

Tiote is clearly a powerful player but he beholds excellent and calm ball control when called upon, keeping the past philosophy of Chelsea having a machine of a midfield and the present philosophy playing neat, tight and close-passing football. The Premiership requires a strong midfield, and in Europe a squad must be able to compete with the other teams technically.

Tiote could allow some variation in the middle when playing, as Chelsea could easily turn formations into 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2 or 4-1-2-1-2. This variation is something that AVB will enjoy since he can change his tactics to keep opponents to keep guessing.

Conclusion

There are other options that AVB could go for to replace these players, such as Van der Wiel, Azpilicueta, Shaqiri, Hamsik, Cavani and Higuain. But these players all seem like a long shot.

However, it's clear that AVB needs to replace players to adapt to the new philosophy, so he can have his own team as he is currently playing with a combination of Mourinho, Scolari, Grant, Hiddink and Ancelloti players.

Once he has that, then it's trophy time for Chelsea.