Roman Abramovich has an axe in one hand and a chequebook in the other – prepare for summer upheaval at Chelsea

Drogba – Manchester united Vs Chelsea

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ANALYSIS
By Greg Stobart

For eight years Chelsea has been run on the whim of owner Roman Abramovich and that is not about to change, whoever is appointed as the club’s new manager.

Carlo Ancelotti was sacked after Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday, but it was a decision that the Russian oligarch had made months ago and the only surprise was the timing.

By sacking Ancelotti at Goodison Park – the second manager in as many weeks to be fired at an away ground – Abramovich served notice that he is in ruthless mood as he plans a summer shake-up at Stamford Bridge.

While he prepares to employ a seventh manager under his ownership, Abramovich is also preparing to make some big decisions in the transfer market – and a number of star names may also be told it is time to move on.

The world does not stand still and in the corridors of Stamford Bridge there is a feeling that the squad needs an urgent injection of top quality young players to challenge Manchester United and Manchester City next season.

Of course, much depends on who is appointed to replace Ancelotti, but they are unlikely to change the culture at Chelsea. As far as Abramovich is concerned, it is his money so he will do what he wants – with a little help from the few men in football that have his ear. The vanity purchase of Fernando Torres for £50 million on the last day of the January transfer window proved that.

BRIDGE BOUND? | Chelsea targets

Gregory van der Wiel Ajax Right-back, 23 Nigel de Jong Manchester City Midfielder, 26 Luka Modric Tottenham Midfielder, 25 Neymar Santos Forward, 19 Romelu Lukaku Anderlecht Striker, 18

To successfully integrate the Spaniard into the team, Didier Drogba could be the most high profile departure from west London this summer, with a number of clubs closely monitoring his situation.

At 33, Drogba is past his absolute peak and while the Ivorian is at the club, there will always be a battle with Torres over who is top dog of the strikers. The pair have failed to build any sort of partnership and the feeling is that one will have to leave for the other to thrive.

Drogba has scored just 13 goals in all competitions this season and while he still has the power to trouble any defence, the feeling is that his best days are behind him. His head is on the chopping block and the likes of Marseille, Tottenham and Real Madrid are all taking a keen interest.

With a year left on his contract, Chelsea will want to recoup a transfer fee for Drogba, who was absent at Goodison Park due to a thigh injury.

Nicolas Anelka also has a year remaining on his deal and could also leave the club, but that is less certain than it might have been earlier in his career when the Frenchman carried the nickname ‘Le Sulk’.

If Salomon Kalou is also sold, that will create plenty of space in Chelsea’s 25-man squad to make moves for some of the best young forwards in the world. It is telling that Chelsea have already linked up their main talks before a new manager is in place, with Brazilian wonderkid Neymar and Belgian star Romelu Lukaku both in talks over potential summer moves.

In midfield, time could be called on Michael Essien’s Chelsea career after a season in which he has appeared to lose the bite and power that helped him to dominate games in the past. John Obi Mikel has frustrated Blues supporters for large parts of the season with his failure to impose himself on games while Yuri Zhirkov is desperate to leave after failing to establish himself in the side in the two years since his £18m switch from CSKA Moscow.

Luka Modric and Nigel de Jong are two players being considered who could add both the silk and the steel needed for Chelsea to regain the Premier League title and challenge seriously for Champions League glory.

Chelsea’s success in the last decade has been founded on a solid defence and they will look to build on the January purchase of David Luiz by signing a new right-back. Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa are both likely to leave and outgoing sporting director Frank Arnesen has spoken of Chelsea’s interest in Ajax right-back Gregory van der Wiel, who is also a target for Manchester City.

Abramovich has his chequebook in one hand and an axe in the other – it’s going to be a very busy summer at Stamford Bridge.

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