Avram's fantasy eleven

Rumours are rife that Chelsea will give Grant, or whomever their manager may be, £100million in the summer - and whilst the inventiveness of such rumours should merit the death penalty, their would be little surprise to see Abramovich hand a relatively blank cheque book to Avram. Not least the natural willingness of a new manager to build his own side, but also the feasible lack of faith in the Israeli could prompt quite a few players following Mourinho out of the door.

We may well be in store for a new-look Chelsea next term, and perhaps one that can fuel the aspirations of their Russian owner for his much longed for 'sexy football'. They'll conceivably be the highest spenders regardless of whether Grant remains at the helm or not.

So who do you think will stay and who will curtail their Stamford Bridge career? Who should they go for and which stars would be open to joining Chelsea?

I think you have to first look at who will leave, of which their are quite a few possibilities (you could probably conjure a reason for most of their employee’s to do so), but some probable candidates are looking like:

- Ben Haim
- Carvalho
- Malouda
- Lampard
- Drogba
- Shevchenko

Carvalho, Malouda and Drogba i think are ones definitely unhappy by Mourinho's departure and Ben Haim too aired his dissatisfaction. Lampard is constantly linked to moves abroad and i think Grant may be tempted to bring someone fresh in to do his job. Then you have Shevchenko, whose entire time in England has been a disaster - AC Milan are intent on his return, and i expect he's not going to complain.

Other people like Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Pizarro and Bridge could be other contenders too, either for a lack of opportunities or for not setting their side alight.

It all depends on who does eventually depart, and also what formation they adopt regularly, but i think it's pretty safe to say positions they could be looking to strengthen are centre-back, right-back, centre-mid, either wing and attack. Roughly:

------------- Cech --------------

--- ? --- Terry --- ? --- Cole --

-- Cole -- ? --- Essien --- ? ---

-------- Anelka --- ? -----------


Maybe Dani Alves could be an obvious target - they have been linked with him for a couple of seasons and he'd certainly tick the "flair" box. Van der Vaart is another player that doesn't take much thinking about, who'd probably arrive in the case of Lampard leaving.

Robinho is rumoured to be walking a tightrope at Madrid, and who knows where he could end up? Then there's Kaka too - with Serie A not the best league anymore, AC quite possibly not having Champions League football and the likes of Shevchenko and Ronaldinho joining Pato in Milan, perhaps they may cash in on the former Player of the Year? It's a long shot but you never know where Chelsea are concerned.

One thing i think could be on the cards is David Villa. He's said he's preferable destinations would be one of Arsenal or Liverpool, but i don't think either will be able to afford or willing to buy him in the summer, so his eagerness to prove himself in the Premier League may prevail in a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

As i say, it's hard to tell with Chelsea's money. Anything's possible.

I think we could well see a team that looks something like this:

cech
alves - terry - alex - cole
cole - ballack - essien - ronaldinho (or modric, van der vaart, or diego in there somewhere)
anelka - villa

good post. just a couple of things to add really. why is cole in the 11. i know hes been good last few years but this year i dont see it. hes had his problems off the field and im sure they could buy a better left back then him. who knows, bridge might be better. doesnt sound right but when bridge played a few games when cole was left out i think he done a good job. Carvalho would be a massive place to fill if he went. they have alex but hes no Carvalho in my eyes. looks like its goin to be a busy time for Chelsea, not sure if grant will be there. if i was a Chelsea fan i wouldnt be happy if he was....

Cech
D. Alves - Terry - Alex - A. Cole
SWP - Obi Mikel - essien - Van Der Vaart
Anelka - Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Hey, why not? He's been rumored to leave and him ending up in Chelsea has better chances than Villa.)

Chelsea are today linked with Sergio Ramos.

Who knows what Chelsea will look like next season? They are less predictable than even Spurs.

Have been told that Micah Richards to Chelsea is 100% definitely happening.

Hey that was the rumour I heard yesterday which I said I forgot. Thanks for reminding me now...

Yobbo, if you're reading this, this was the third rumour that I said I forgot...

Does anyone know anything about Ivanovic (if that's his name) who signed for Chelsea in January? He hasn't really played much has he?

Could he be paired together with Terry next year? (Assuming Carvalho does the expected and leaves)

They better keep their hands off! I'd never forgive them if they stole him.

ivanovic has been compared to vidic in stature and ability and has even stated himself that his game is very similar to vidic's except he is quicker....

Only time will tell wether or not these assumptions turn out to be true......