Chelsea sit fourth on the log with 48 points and behind high flyers; Liverpool, Leicester City and Manchester City.
The Premier League was abandoned with 9 matches left to complete the 2019/2020 season.
There have been talks of the teams in Europe completing their season behind closed doors as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many countries into locked down.
A place in the Champions League is almost certain for the Blues with clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham all struggling to climb up the ladder.
What should be their concerns, however, is the transfer market that is fast approaching with a number of their senior players running down their contracts.
Though, the club is eyeing many big deals, it is obvious it is going to watch some of the best players in the team walk away for nothing this summer.
We have compiled the list of the senior players that will be leaving for nothing at the end of the season.
Willian Borges da Silva (31)
The purchase of Willian was completed in late August 2013, the Brazilian signing a five-year contract on moving to England from Russian club Anzhi Makhachka for €35.50m.
Chelsea fans knew what they were getting when the Blues brought Willian to the club, having seen him net twice in a virtuoso display for Shakhtar Donetsk at the Bridge in 2012.
His choice of Stamford Bridge, and not White Hart Lane, as had been expected, immediately endeared the likeable Brazilian to the club’s supporters, who had a song penned for him even before he made his debut for the club.
Comfortable operating in any of the attacking midfield positions behind the main striker, Willian is quick, robust and creative in possession. As his first couple of Chelsea goals proved, he also has an eye for the spectacular and he has emerged as one of the game’s best set-piece specialists.
His direct free-kicks were a major feature of the 2015/16 season when he shone brightly in a gloomy campaign in general. It was no surprise when Willian was both the fans and his team-mates’ choice for Chelsea Player of the Year.
Under the management of his former team-mate Frank Lampard, Willian has produced some of the best form of his Chelsea career.
Leading by example to the multitude of younger players now around him in the team, he has been a regular on the right side of the attack, and stepped up in Eden Hazard’s absence to serve as the team’s lead creator.
His individual highlight in the first half of the season was undoubtedly his brace at Tottenham shortly before Christmas, goals which secured us a famous away win in our first game at their new stadium.
In July 12, 2016, Willian signed an extension to his contract but that didn’t stop clubs like Barcelona to continue pressing to snap him up.
His contract is set to expire on 30.06.2020 and there is no deal for him yet.
With 28 games, five goals and five assists in the Premier League 2019/2020 season, the Brazilian may be on his way out of the Stanford Bridge for nothing.
The forward has a current market value of €22.50m according to transfermarket.com.
Olivier Giroud (33)
Olivier Giroud moved across London to Chelsea from Arsenal in January 2018 and signed an 18-month contract at Stamford Bridge.
The striker arrived with a proven pedigree at the highest level having scored goals regularly in the Premier League, in Europe and on the international stage for France.
A strong, physical forward, Giroud is lethal in the air and clinical with his feet in and around the penalty area.
He played an important role in Chelsea’s recent successes in the FA Cup (2018) and the Europa League (2019), scoring against his former club in the final of the latter competition in Baku.
Giroud began his career with Grenoble and, after moving up through the ranks, eventually made his first-team debut for the French club in 2006.
A loan spell at Istres followed before he joined Ligue 2 club Tours on a permanent basis. So impressive were his displays for Tours, Giroud then moved to Montpellier, in the French top flight, in July 2010.
The striker made a goalscoring debut for Montpellier and enjoyed a solid first season with the club, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw at PSG, as well as netting the winner against the same opposition in a League Cup semi-final.
His second campaign at the club really could not have gone any better, with the forward netting hat-tricks in matches against Dijon and Sochaux as well as the winning goals against Lyon, Nice and St-Etienne as Montpellier won the French title for the first time in their history. He ended the campaign with 21 league goals.
After signing for Arsenal in the summer of 2012, Giroud quickly adapted to the demands of English football. He ended the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons by playing in victorious FA Cup finals and in the second of those – a 4-0 win over Aston Villa – it was Giroud who completed the scoring.
Having made his Chelsea debut in an away game at Watford, Giroud impressed on his first start at home to West Bromwich Albion and scored his maiden goal for the club in their following game, a 4-0 FA Cup win over Hull City.
Giroud had to wait a while for his first league goals in Chelsea blue, but when they arrived they swung an away game at Southampton decisively in Chelsea’s favour as they fought back from 2-0 down.
He scored another goal against the same opposition at Wembley a week later, setting the club on their way to victory in the FA Cup semi-final with a slalom individual goal.
He headed a fine winning goal against Liverpool in May and finished the season as first-choice striker, working hard in their FA Cup final win over Manchester United which earned him a fourth winners’ medal in the competition.
In the 2019/2020 season, Giroud has only played 9 times in the league, finding the back of the net twice as Frank Lampard prefers the young Tammy Abraham to lead the line.
The big French forward, who has a current market value of €7.00m, will have his contract expired on 30.06.2020 and he is certain to walk away as a free agent.
Inter Milan are one of the numerous clubs after his signature at the moment.
Pedro (32)
A talented two-footed winger, who is also capable of playing more centrally, Pedro arrived at Stamford Bridge with a fantastic pedigree having already enjoyed success at the highest level at club and international level with Barcelona and Spain.
He made his Chelsea debut away at West Bromwich Albion in August 2015 and endeared himself to supporters immediately, scoring one and laying on another in a 3-2 victory. He scored his first Premier League goal at home to Sunderland in December 2015, the first game after the departure of Jose Mourinho as manager.
Pedro found good form in the latter months of the season despite some niggling injuries, and recorded two-goal hauls at home to Newcastle and away to Aston Villa, followed by a fine opener in a big win at Bournemouth. He finished joint-third highest scorer with eight goals from the 40 appearances of his maiden season.
In October 2016, early in his second season at Chelsea, he scored the fastest goal of that campaign so far when netting after 30 seconds of a 4-0 win over Manchester United. It was also his 50th Chelsea appearance and began a run of scoring form which included the Premier League’s Goal of the Month for November 2016, a turn and spectacular curled finish that equalised in a win at home to Spurs.
Pedro’s best form since arriving at the club frequently won him selection ahead of the previous season’s Player of the Year Willian, and in the FA Cup, as a left wing-back and a right wing-back. He found the target five times in six games at the turn of the year.
The Spaniard then won his second Goal of the Month award for a truly stunning strike in a 3-0 win away at Everton (above), a result which sparked jubilant celebrations at the final whistle as the Blues closed in on the title, and he was on target again in Chelsea’s final-day thumping of Sunderland as he came off the bench to head home. In total, he scored nine league goals en route to picking up his first trophy in England.
He got a contract extension in August, 2018 after finishing the 2017/18 season with seven goals in 48 appearances in all competitions.
In the 2019/2020 Premier League season, Pedro has made 9 appearances, scoring a goal and making one assist with 69% shooting acuracy.
The forward, whose contract will be expiring on 30 June 2020, has a current market value of €9.50m per transfermarket.com.
Marco van Ginkel (27)
Marco van Ginkel joined Chelsea from Vitesse Arnhem in July 2013, penning a five-year contract with the Blues.
The Dutch international, who is 6ft 1in tall, has built a reputation for good energy, ball control and passing in central midfield, both as an attacking force or in a more defensive role.
An anterior cruciate ligament injury, picked up in a Capital One Cup game early in his first campaign, halted what had been a promising start to the youngster’s Chelsea career.
After working hard on his rehabilitation, he re-joined the squad in early March 2014 and spent the following season on loan at AC Milan.
It was announced on 10 July 2015 that Van Ginkel would spend the season on loan in the Barclays Premier League, with Stoke City his destination. However, on the final day of the winter transfer window, he switched to PSV Eindhoven in his native Netherlands.
He played 21 games for Stoke before terminating that contract to join the Eredivisie’s top club. He scored on his first start, against Utrecht and went on to enjoy a hugely successful few months.
His eight goals in 16 appearances contributed significantly to PSV winning the Dutch league title when they pipped Ajax on the final day.
Van Ginkel also played every minute of an epic Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid, only narrowly losing out on penalties to a team that went on to reach the final.
He scored his penalty in the shoot-out, as he had done earlier in the season for Stoke in a League Cup semi-final at Anfield. His form helped him back into the Dutch senior team.
On 31 December, 2016, he signed a new two-and-a-half year contract at Chelsea and rejoined PSV on loan until the end of the campaign.
Van Ginkel was on target in his first game back for PSV and followed it up with another goal the following week in a 4-3 win against Heerenveen.
It was announced in July 2017 Van Ginkel had signed a one-year contract extension, committing himself to Chelsea until 2020, and that he had agreed to return to PSV on loan for the season ahead.
The 2016/17 season was a season to remember for Van Ginkel as he captained PSV to the title, netting an impressive 14 goals in 28 league games from midfield. Ten of his goals came before the winter break, with the other four netted in the dramatic title run-in as PSV held off their great rivals Ajax.
Unfortunately, however, in July 2018 he had to undergo further major surgery – a procedure relating to the revision reconstruction of his anterior cruciate ligament and treatment of chondral damage in his knee.
The Netherlands international has not been involved with the team this season.
Now, the midfielder will be out of contract at the end of June this year and the vultures will obviously be waiting to pounce on the talented player for no amount.
Willy Caballero (38)
Goalkeeper Willy Caballero joined Chelsea on 1 July 2017 having been out of contract at Manchester City.
He was signed to add strength to the team’s goalkeeper resources following the departure of Asmir Begovic to Bournemouth as he has a wealth of experience at the highest level.
He spent the previous three seasons at City, having started his career at Boca Juniors in his native Argentina before playing for Spanish clubs Elche and Malaga.
Caballero made his Chelsea debut in September 2017, in a 5-1 Carabao Cup game at home to Nottingham Forest. He was denied a debut clean sheet by a Forest goal right at the end of the game.
He played his first Premier League game for Chelsea in January 2018, making an outstanding save from a Tomer Hemed header in a 4-0 win at Brighton.
Having been called up to the Argentina squad in March 2018, Caballero then made his debut for the national side at the age of 36 in a 2-0 friendly win over Italy. As well as keeping a clean sheet, the Chelsea ‘keeper performed well throughout and made a number of impressive saves.
In the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, he played an important role in Chelsea’s progress including one great stop when the score was 1-0.
In 2018/19, Caballero appeared nine times behind new first-choice Kepa Arrizabalaga. He notably kept a clean sheet in a crucial home win over Tottenham in February 2019, and he appeared twice in Chelsea’s successful Europa League campaign.
Caballero signed a new one-year contract in the May 2019.
At international level, he was part of the Argentina team which won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and later in his career he was named in the Argentina squad for the 2018 World Cup, starting their opening two matches of the competition.
The 38-year-old goalkeeper will be a free agent at the end of the 2019/2020 season as there was no sign of Chelsea’s interest in extending his contract. (AFP)
