Chelsea Transfer Gossip: 7 Hottest Rumors from the Last 7 Days

Chelsea are clearly a club in crisis once again, and what better way to alleviate fans' stress than with a new batch of transfer rumors.

With no permanent manager at the helm, it remains to be seen who will step into the hell of the head job at Stamford Bridge and who the club can buy to inject the squad with the youth it so badly needs.

Old sons are rumored to be returning, and fantastic solutions have been proposed to satiate Roman Abromovich and end Chelsea's remarkable recent run of futility.

Here are seven of the most recent Chelsea transfer rumors to make the rounds.

Arjen Robben

Apparently, the Dutch winger whom Chelsea bought from PSV back in 2004 is ready to leave Bayern Munich and a situation in Germany that Robben describes as far from ideal.

He is reportedly considering all possible options, and chief among them is a return to the Premier League. If such a transfer takes place, the familiar confines of Stamford Bridge may prove attractive to the prolific player in the prime of his career.

But who, specifically, will buy Robben—who will he play for? Good question...

Jose Mourinho

Roman Abramovich clearly made a mistake when he forced out the original and better version of Andre Villas-Boas several years ago in "The Special One" Jose Mourinho.

Inevitably, countless rumors have been making the rounds almost immediately after AVB's sacking became official that Jose Mourinho is eager to return to his old club, and that the club would gladly take him back.

If Mourinho wins the La Liga title this season, he will become the only manager in history to win the domestic League trophy in England, Italy and Spain. Perhaps, he will be looking to finish some old business and win the Champions League at the club that catapulted him to greatness.

Or maybe, the gargantuan task of managing Real Madrid is proving too taxing for even one of football's most pugnacious managers.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Interestingly, reports of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's mutual interest in rekindling their partnership have coincided with claims that the Portuguese will only make the move if one of his countrymen moves with him.

That person would be no other than superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who would reportedly cost a mere £100 million, and be included in any deal that would send the Mourinho back to west London.

This is obviously one of the more fantastic rumors of the past week, but I suppose Chelsea fans are allowed to dream even the most improbable thoughts.

Abramovich has seemingly endless reserves of money and did spend big to pry Andre Villas-Boas away from Porto.

Didier Drogba to Schalke 04

At 33 years old, the fact that Didier Drogba is still performing at a top level has been an extremely improbably blessing for Chelsea this season.

However, the Ivorian is not likely to continue his dominance for much longer, and German club Schalke 04 are apparently ready to squeeze the last good days out of a truly great player.

Though this would mark the end of an era in a way, Drogba's transfer would dovetail with the necessary switch to younger players that needs to happen at Chelsea.

And, as Schalke have shown by purchasing Raul on the downside of his career, they are not afraid to take on distinguished strikers during the last of their effective years.

Roberto Soldado

Roberto Soldado's form has been so scintillating for Valencia in recent months that he was called up to the Spain national team over the likes of Fernando Llorente and Fernando Torres, who has been preferred in the striker role despite his abysmal form.

And precisely because of the latter Spaniard's club struggles, his national team replacement is being mentioned as a possible summer transfer target for the Blues.

Soldado is a hard-working, humble striker who possesses enough leadership to captain Valencia on a regular basis and can poach goals or play an instrumental role in making them. He is the type of player who is largely underappreciated until they deliver one moment of greatness to win a game.

The fact that there is the albatross of Torres hanging over this deal does not make it any less intelligent for whoever the next Chelsea boss is to attempt to pull it off.

David Luiz to Barcelona

Chelsea's defence has been unusually leaky recently, and much of the blame for this has fallen squarely on the afro of David Luiz.

The Brazilian defender, people say, has too much flair and not enough mettle. While this sentiment may not entirely be justified, there has been enough uncertainty over Luiz's future to see a link emerge between him and Barcelona.

The player himself certainly does not deny the existence of at least an approach by the Catalans, saying "I would be lying if I said I know nothing," and expressing his admiration for their side by stating that "every player would love to play for Barcelona."

Chelsea certainly do not need to lose a defender this summer and must take reasonable measures to prevent a Barcelona swoop.

Pep Guardiola

Perhaps, the only man to be mentioned as a possibility to fill Chelsea's managerial void as much as Jose Mourinho is his great rival Pep Guardiola.

The Barcelona manager famously agrees to only one-year contracts every season, and thus, he will be out of contract during the summer if Roman Abramovich wanted to get his checkbook out in spectacular fashion.

Guardiola, however, is an intelligent man. He will surely know what a torture chamber the Chelsea job is just like every neutral observer of the crumbling club. Thus, he has taken steps to play down links between him and the Blues.

If Abramovich wishes to throw an obscene amount of money at the Barcelona manager this summer, he can do it without financial reservation. But I believe Guardiola is smart enough to leave the money on the table and run away as fast as he can.

That, ultimately, is what will plague the team in its search for a new boss.