Which Chelsea EPL Legend Would Blues Fans Like to Reboot to Boost Current Team?
The Premier League table doesn't tell lies. Chelsea are 10 points clear as we enter the last eight weeks of the season, which means it's going to require a collapse of epic proportions in order to stop them claiming a sixth league title.
The chasing pack of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool are hanging on to their title hopes by the thinnest of threads. They've been well and truly mastered by the Blues this season.
Still, it doesn't mean Antonio Conte's side is free from imperfections. Before the Italian switched systems in October to propel his team back to the top of English football, we witnessed the frailties he has in the dressing room.
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And even now, having lost just one match in their previous 22 Premier League outings, the Blues remain a work in progress. There is a lack of goals from their midfielders—Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Pedro have scored 60 per cent of their league goals this term—while a creative edge in key areas is also needed.
Added to that, Costa is the only recognised first-team striker Conte has at his disposal. Michy Batshuayi has spent the season warming the bench; he hasn't started a single Premier League game or completed 90 minutes.
So while Chelsea have made a mockery of the title race, Conte knows he has to make changes in order to maintain a position of strength.
A vital part of his evolution will be adding some new faces to his squad. Outside of Roman Abramovich opening up his chequebook this summer, if Conte could pick just one of Chelsea's Premier League legends to reboot, who would he go for based on his current needs?
Bleacher Report has attempted to answer that question for him. We took to social media, asking Chelsea fans to vote on three players who could make the Blues an even stronger proposition than they already are. Here are the results.
Our Twitter poll
There is a debate over the Spaniard's legendary status at Chelsea. Having spent two-and-a-half years in west London, one view is that Mata didn't spend enough time as a Chelsea player to be ranked so highly.
But then consider his contribution in that small window of time and it outlines what an exceptional talent he was in a Chelsea shirt. He gets special dispensation.
Mata won Player of the Year in his two full seasons at Stamford Bridge. At a time when the club was starting its transition to the current era, he was a major influence. With his dazzling skill and craft in the final third, he was essential to Chelsea as an attacking threat.
Mata played a big role in Chelsea winning the 2012 Champions League. The following year, he was equally vital to the Blues completing a historical clean sweep in Europe when they lifted the Europa League.
"@garryhayes @br_uk Lampard, he's the most effective player we've ever had. POTYx2 Mata would give something we lack so I do see the argument
— Alex McGovern (@amcgovern25) March 21, 2017"
At a time when Chelsea's powers were declining, Mata ensured they maintained a level of competitiveness. He complemented the brawn of other players around him and right now, he would do something similar for Conte's side.
The Blues have Cesc Fabregas to play a deeper role in midfield, but in the final third, there isn't another player who offers what Mata can. He would provide tactical flexibility by being capable of operating as a No. 10 or inside forward.
He scores goals, too, and would give Chelsea a consistent threat from set pieces—an area where they have struggled at times this season.
Didier Drogba
We've already seen a Costa-Drogba strike partnership of sorts at Stamford Bridge after the latter returned to the club in 2014/15.
That was Drogba the elder statesman, however. While his brief return worked and helped Chelsea breeze to the title, imagining prime Drogba and Costa together is an awesome prospect.
It would give Conte the Premier League's meanest strike pairing. If we consider the goals return of both players at their best, it would mean them scoring well beyond 50 goals combined in a season.
Chelsea would have the ability to pulverise teams—much more so than they are already doing.
The exciting part of it would be Conte's ability to pair them together, which didn't happen enough under Jose Mourinho in 2014/15. Conte is playing a 3-5-2 more frequently in the latter stages of games, using a stronger midfield to close matches out and choke opponents.
The prospect of peak Drogba and Costa together from the outset of matches would send chills throughout the rest of the Premier League.
Chelsea have been wise since Lampard departed the club in 2014. The question was always going to be how they would replace him.
Well, they haven't, but they haven't tried. The style of play evolved so that Lampard's absence as a player hasn't been as dramatically felt. Still, goals from midfield remains a problem.
Outside of the regular attacking trio of Pedro, Costa and Hazard, the rest of Conte's team has chipped in with just 24 goals this term. When we narrow it down to the midfielders, only four league goals have been scored by Fabregas, N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic.
That has to be a concern.
Rebooting prime Lampard would dramatically change those statistics on paper. The Englishman is the finest goalscoring midfielder the Premier League has seen. Indeed, with a record 211 goals to his name in Chelsea colours, he's the club's top goalscorer.
You can't ignore that, and of the three players we've selected here, Lampard's contribution far outweighs Drogba and Mata.
The headache for Conte would come with the system. How would he deploy Lampard without upsetting the balance he has found at Chelsea this year?
Lampard's return would result in a three-man presence in the middle. Playing alongside just Kante or Matic would mean Lampard looking over his shoulder too often, when his real contribution would come further forward.
When he partnered Claude Makelele, Lampard still had any of Tiago, Michael Ballack, John Obi Mikel or Michael Essien alongside him.
Conte would have to play a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 to fit Lampard in, but as his record shows us, the result would be goals. And plenty of them, which is what Chelsea are missing from midfield right now.
The Others
We could only select three Chelsea legends to cater for Conte's biggest needs at Chelsea right now, which meant some big names being missed out.
Some fans on Twitter suggested the likes of Essien as an alternative to our chosen three, but with Kante doing such a remarkable job in midfield this season, it would be a waste for Conte to look at a player like the Ghanaian.
The same can be said for Gianfranco Zola. If we're comparing like-for-like players, the Italian maestro is too similar to Pedro and Hazard in terms of what he could offer. It's not to suggest either are more capable than him, but replacing players for what Conte already has wasn't the point: we were identifying ways to make Chelsea stronger by giving the team something it doesn't already have.
Drogba, Mata and Lampard address the biggest areas of concern, with record-scorer Lampard coming top of our list, as he did in the Twitter poll.
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