An XI of Chelsea players sold by BlueCo who’d beat current shambles | OneFootball

Chelsea are going backwards under BlueCo’s ownership; they actually look considerably worse for all the money they’ve recklessly invested.

They were the “blue billion-pound bottlejobs” in 2024, then started to look like a semi-serious team again – but it was just an illusion. Chelsea are a mess again and their fed-up fans are quickly running out of patience with their owners.

Could Chelsea have built a better team without so much upheaval? We’ve picked out a line-up of players sold or released since their 2022 takeover that could beat the Chelsea team that’s left over now.

Granted, it doesn’t take much to beat Chelsea at the moment on current form, but we reckon this line-up would manage.

GK: Djordje Petrovic

Chelsea have tried and consistently failed to settle on a competent goalkeeper since they sold Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid back in 2018.

Robert Sanchez is the man in possession of the gloves but he is only ever one brain-fade away from a massive mistake.

Ironically, Chelsea had two keepers in better form out on loan last season: Kepa Arrizabalaga at Bournemouth and Petrovic at Strasbourg.

Both were sold in the summer, with Kepa pausing his mini-revival to become a back-up at Arsenal and Petrovic filling the void he left at Bournemouth.

Petrovic is one of only three Premier League keepers with more than 100 saves this season. At 26, it seems he was ready to be trusted.

RB: Cesar Azpilicueta

Azpilicueta is the first of two defenders in this XI not actually sold by BlueCo but released on their watch.

Yes, he’s 36 now and toiling away in a relegation battle in La Liga with Sevilla, but he would still help old Chelsea beat current Chelsea. Have you seen their left wingers this season?

CB: Antonio Rudiger

A year before Azpilicueta, Rudiger left on a free transfer to Real Madrid.

His record since hasn’t been too shabby; he was named in The Best FIFA Men’s XI for 2024 after helping Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.

Now 33, Rudiger has run into some injury issues this season ahead of his expiring contract, but he still starts regularly when available.

CB: Renato Veiga

Veiga gets the nod here over Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen due to the Dane’s current ACL injury.

Chelsea’s handling of Veiga was particularly odd, to the point that he left the club after six months after becoming frustrated at not being able to play at centre-back. Did Chelsea know what kind of player they were signing?

Ultimately, he left on loan for Juventus before being sold to Villarreal, where he has featured heavily this season in his preferred position.

At least Chelsea made a profit. Because that’s all that matters now, apparently.

LB: Lewis Hall

There was frustration when Hall slipped from Chelsea’s grasp after coming through their academy only to join his boyhood club, Newcastle United in 2023.

Hall now has nearly 100 appearances to his name for Newcastle and four caps for England. He should be going to the World Cup.

It’s been a deflating season for Newcastle just as much as it has for Chelsea, but a still-only-21 Hall has been one of their better players.

CM: Jorginho

At times misunderstood, Jorginho joined Arsenal from Chelsea in January 2023. His experience came in handy until he left for Flamengo last summer.

He’s 34 now and Chelsea weren’t necessarily wrong to cash in when they did. But he has been collecting trophies at an impressive rate in Brazil and oozes the kind of leadership Chelsea have since been lacking.

CM: Conor Gallagher

Speaking of which, Gallagher’s sale to Atletico Madrid in 2024 was a particularly gut-wrenching move by the current Chelsea regime. By now, suspicions were starting to set in that they were ripping the soul out of the team.

Chelsea have had better midfielders than Gallagher before – and maybe even now – but his tenacity was something they were always going to miss.

CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Chelsea was just a step too far in Dewsbury-Hall’s career, even under the guidance of his former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca.

But he has been getting back on track with Everton, scoring eight goals in the league this season…more than any Chelsea midfielder other than Enzo Fernandez.

RW: Christian Pulisic

Pulisic never quite lived up to the hype at Chelsea after his much-anticipated move from Borussia Dortmund. Only 26 goals from 145 games for the Blues followed.

Since leaving for AC Milan, though, the American has rebuilt his reputation, scoring more goals (42) in fewer games (132).

Some will scoff and say it’s easier to succeed in Italy than England, but Pulisic stood out enough to be in the Serie A Team of the Season for each of his first two years there.

CF: Kai Havertz

There was some bemusement when Chelsea sold Havertz to Arsenal for £65m in 2023. He may have scored the winner in the 2021 Champions League final, but the German struggled to really fulfil his potential and find his place at Stamford Bridge.

He’s now scored more goals for Arsenal than he did for Chelsea and has always finished above his old club in the table, too.

Does he still have his limitations? Yes. Are we any clearer of his best position? Maybe not. But Chelsea certainly played their part in not being able to maximise his talent.

He has since haunted them with a brace in a league game in April 2024 and a goal in this season’s Carabao Cup semi-finals.

LW: Callum Hudson-Odoi

Chelsea once thought they had a potential £100m asset on their hands in Hudson-Odoi, before selling him for just £5m to Nottingham Forest after he lost his way.

The winger bounced back to score eight goals in his first season with Forest and now has 19 to his name for them.

He won’t reach the lofty standards once predicted for him – injury can do that to a player – but it equally could have turned out a lot worse.