Chelsea's fundamental lack of physical presence in front of their defence has been made ironic during a week in which two players that won the Champions League with the club announced their retirement.
Ramires, who scored one of the club's most famous goals ever with his deft chip against Barcelona at Nou Camp in the semi-final second leg, retired last week aged 35 after a 16-year professional playing career. The Brazilian was part of the 2014/15 Chelsea title win and also lifted the Champions League in 2012.
Although he wasn't the controlling presence of Claude Makele or N'Golo Kante, his energy and speed combined with flares of brilliance on the ball made him a fan favourite during the six years he was in London.
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In the same week, John Mikel Obi also announced, aged 35, that he too was retiring. The Nigerian midfielder became a cult hero at the club for his work with Jose Mourinho and also the nature of his transfer to join the club in the first place.
Mikel, a talented attacking midfielder playing in Norway, was signed for £18m by Chelsea in the summer of 2006 under Mourinho's watch, but the nature of his move was massively controversial after he, similarly to Willian, chose the Blues after agreeing a deal with another club.
"I don't regret any decision I made because I enjoyed everything I achieved at Chelsea - it's the best decision I have ever made in my life," Mikel told BBC Sport Africa. The Nigerian international had signed a pre-contract with Sir Alex Ferguson despite Chelsea being extremely interested in him.
Chelsea, coming from back-to-back title wins, was the club to join though, and Mikel added: "I acted as a young kid and as soon as Chelsea heard the news, they came and got me out of Norway. That's when people started saying that I was kidnapped. It wasn't a great moment for me then. I just wanted to play football because I was so young."
Play football Mikel certainly would. He ended with 362 appearances for the Blues across 10 years and was loved for the simple nature of his game. Having been brought in as an attacking player, Mourinho decided that he would be better suited to Chelsea as a defensive option, and so Mikel's talents were focused towards being a shield for the backline and giving it to the creative options in front of him.
His record of just six goals demonstrates that. After signing he went eight seasons before scoring his first goal, in an FA Cup match, and would go on to score his first league goal later that campaign too. How Mikel's career at Old Trafford may have played out, we will never know, but given his ability to carry out instructions, he may well have been just as successful there. It was shortly after Mikel joined Chelsea that Michael Carrick went on to star as a Manchester United stalwart for years to come.
"I signed a pre-contract for Manchester United when I was 17," Mikel explained. "If you are a kid and you see Sir Alex Ferguson right in front of you with the contract, of course you will be tempted.
"Mourinho decided that he wanted me to play the defensive midfield position. At the end of the day, he is the coach and made the decision," Mikel recalled. "We discussed and he felt that because of the big midfield players he had in his squad at Chelsea that I should play the defensive midfield role.
"[Claude] Makelele was just finishing his career at Chelsea, so Mourinho wanted me to take over from Makelele."
Mikel has arguably become a more popular ex-Chelsea player since leaving the club, especially with the current state of the midfield that lacks a player with Mikel's presence completely. Mikel remained at Chelsea after Mourinho left just over one-year after joining the club but the pair were reunited in 2013 when Mourinho came back for a second stint at SW6.
After finishing with Chelsea at the end of the 2015/16 season, leaving months after Mourinho was sacked, Mikel also moved on, going on to play for Stoke, Middlesbrough and Trabzonspor.
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