Chelsea have let a number of players move away from the club in recent years, however one of them could have been important to solve one of their current big issues.
Todd Boehly and co have built one of the youngest teams that has ever been seen at the top of the game, and the youngest on average in the Premier League last season.
Only Tosin Adrabioyo and Robert Sanchez have regularly featured for the Blues while being over the age of 25, and a number of seemingly perfect transfer targets have gone by the wayside due to them not fitting into the new project.
They have been strongly linked over the years to Mike Maignan, Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen, however none of them ended up making the move to Stamford Bridge.
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David Raya praises former Chelsea star Alvaro Morata’s leadership
In their frequent turnover of attackers, one of the players who departed was Alvaro Morata, however the end of his Chelsea career did not put an end to his time at the top for his country.
The striker has remained in Spain’s plans, and is still making an impact on some of his international teammates five years after he permanently left Chelsea.
David Raya was asked who he believed was the biggest leader in the Spain squad, and he answered with Morata, putting him ahead of the likes of Rodri and Marc Cucurella.
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Leadership is perhaps the only thing that can be pointed at as missing at Stamford Bridge, and while the players will gain this through experience, it felt like they could have been crucial in some moments already to have a calm voice in the heat of battle.
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Morata starring since leaving Chelsea
Morata meanwhile has found his abilities again since leaving Chelsea, featuring for a number of top sides around Europe.
The Spaniard moved to Atletico Madrid, before featuring for Juventus, AC Milan and Galatasaray, with him now working under Cesc Fabregas at Como.
Morata was named in the Champions League Team of the Group stage while with Milan, in a season where Chelsea didn’t even qualify for the competition.
Things didn’t work out for him at Stamford Bridge, however there are certainly traits he has developed throughout his career that would be useful for the current side.