Head coach of Chelsea Antonio Conte has revealed the difficulties they are facing in trying to get a replacement for three of the club long serving players including captain of the Super Eagles John Obi Mikel.
Conte named Mikel, Branislav Ivanovic and captain John Terry who will be leaving the club in the summer, as three players who will be hard to replace.
He made this known during his pre match conference ahead of their FA Cup semi-final game against Tottenham Hotspur?, and said the difficulty in replacing them is part of the reason why they are still building the team.
The trio were the longest serving players in the club, when Conte was appointed as coach in the summer, and while Mikel and Ivanovic have since moved to China and Russia respectively, Terry will leave the club in the summer after 22 years.
Now at Chinese side Tianjin Teda, the Super Eagles captain has settled down to life quickly than most of his peers who also made moves to the Middle East during the January transfer window.