Outgoing – Defence
Thibaut Courtois – Apparently a lot of talks have been had between Conte and the bumbling Belgian about his future and no concrete answer has yet been reached. It’s true that Courtois has a lot of potential but that is mainly down to the fact that he’s a giant which people presume to be a good thing for goalkeepers (Oliver Kahn was five inches shorter and what a failure he was right?).
However, he seems to lack the steadfast mentality of a champion and has blamed his failures this year on everyone but himself including his defenders, his goalkeeping coach, Jose Mourinho and the medical staff.
Courtois clearly feels that he is better than Chelsea and despite having four years left on his contract and, despite having had an awful mistake- and injury-riddled season, he thinks he should be playing for a bigger club. Apparently the asking price for Courtois is £65 million but I don’t see anybody paying that.
John Terry – Unless there is some sort of 11th hour change of heart, this does appear to be the end of John Terry’s time in West London. It is not impossible to imagine, given the ridiculous nature of Michael Emenalo’s negotiating, that they may call John in two weeks’ time screaming “we made a mistake we’re sorry” but as of right now that doesn’t appear to be happening. John Terry is very popular in China and has been receiving mega money offers to see out his career in the Far East.
Next: Outgoing - Midfield