CHELSEA MAY LOSE SIX PLAYERS AFTER TODAY’S FA CUP FINAL

Speculations are rife that six players may be having their last dance with Chelsea after today’s FA Cup final match with Arsenal. The players are Willian,  Kepa Arrizabalaga, Michy Batshuayi, Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri and N’Golo Kante.

Willian, a winger was one of Chelsea’s standout performers after the restart and ended the Premier League season with nine goals and seven assists to his name.

The Brazilian was involved in all but two of the Blues’ 38 top-flight contests this term, underlining his continued importance to the cause.

However, Willian will become a free agent after the FA Cup final, having failed to agree a contract extension with the club.

While the player is holding out for a three-year deal, Chelsea have only offered him two extra seasons.

Sky Sports report the two parties may have found a compromise, but as things stand a summer departure still looks possible.

Willian is likely to stay in the Premier League even if he bids Chelsea farewell, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur monitoring the situation closely.

Chelsea paid a world-record fee for a goalkeeper when they signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Club for £71.5million.

But the club are already reportedly willing to cut their losses after two mediocre seasons from the Spanish shot-stopper.

Lampard appears to have lost confidence in Kepa, dropping him for last Sunday’s crucial clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers in favour of the veteran Willy Caballero.

Oblak and Henderson may prove out of reach for Chelsea, but it’s clear that Kepa is no longer guaranteed the No.1 jersey at Stamford Bridge.

However, the west Londoners have little chance of recouping anything close to the fee they paid for the Spaniard two summers ago.

The arrival of Werner has pushed Michy Batshuayi further down the centre-forward pecking order at Chelsea.

The Belgian barely got a look in this campaign, with Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud preferred by Lampard.

Batshuayi only made one Premier League start all season, and his 16 appearances totalled just 226 minutes.

Having previously been sent out for loan spells at Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Crystal Palace, Batshuayi could move on permanently this summer.

Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United have been linked with the 26-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2016.

Jorginho  was Maurizio Sarri’s first signing as Chelsea boss.  The midfielder was expected to depart when the former manager left last summer.

Instead, the Brazil-born Italy international enjoyed a much-improved season under Lampard, turning in some fine performances and emerging as a leader.

Even so, there remains a suspicion that Jorginho isn’t ideally suited to what Lampard wants from a player in his role.

The former Napoli man is adept at setting the tempo and retaining possession, but he’s struggled to afford the backline the sort of protection that’s required of a holding midfielder.

As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jorginho was also let go ahead of next season, with Sarri likely to be interested in another reunion at Juventus.

Emerson Palmieri looked like an astute addition in January 2018, and Chelsea fans thought he would replace Marcos Alonso at left wing-back.

But things haven’t gone to plan for the former Roma defender, whose prospects barely improved after Sarri restored a four-man defence at Stamford Bridge following Antonio Conte’s departure.

Another Brazil-born Italy international, Emerson has started only 23 Premier League games in two-and-a-half years on the Chelsea books.

Alonso has tended to be given the nod in his position, and Lampard has at times entrusted the left-back role to Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of him.

That suggests he doesn’t completely trust Emerson, who turns 26 on Monday and may want to kick-start his career elsewhere.

Kante has endured an injury-hit campaign, but his displays when fit weren’t quite of the level of previous years.

The former Leicester City man is a world-class ball-winner, but Lampard’s style of play is different to that of Claudio Ranieri and Conte, the two managers Kante has enjoyed his best seasons under.

Given their substantial outlay on Werner, Ziyech and, if a deal goes through, Havertz, Chelsea might be tempted to sell Kante if they receive a bid.