This has been such a disappointing season for Chelsea, that there is expected to be a mass exodus of players in the summer as the new manager comes on and cleans house.
Question marks are hovering over the future of several players such as Pedro, Diego Costa, Oscar and Eden Hazard.
Another player who has seen an alarming drop of form this season is Nemanja Matic. The midfielder has struggled to come anywhere near his form from last season and was substituted after 55 minutes of last weekend’s draw with Everton after another lacklustre display in which he lost all eight of the duels and tackles in which he was involved.
Earlier this season Matic suffered the ignominy of being withdrawn by Mourinho just 18 minutes after coming off the bench in their 3-1 defeat to Southampton in October, and Saturday was the fourth time in 21 appearances that he has been substituted this season, something that only happened once last year as Chelsea won the title.
With his confidence affected, Matic is understood to be finding it difficult to get himself back to his desired level and is considering whether a change of club is what his career needs.
Team-mates believe he has already decided to leave in the summer though much could yet depend on Chelsea’s next managerial appointment.
Guus Hiddink has turned to John Obi Mikel in recent weeks instead of Matic saying of Mikel.
“He’s the ideal player to bring balance to the team,” he said of the Nigerian earlier this month.
“John Obi can be one of the key figures in getting the balance back.”
Mikel is the subject of an offer from China at the moment and could yet depart this month if the right figures are met. Even if the does leave, that is no guarantee that Hiddink will turn back to Matic. That is because this season Chelsea are much worse off when he plays, winning only three games out of the 21 he’s started.
And if that’s not damning enough, when the defensive midfielder has come on as a substitute the Blues have lost eight points from winning positions.
