Chelsea release eight players from its squad

[Emmy Baba]

Chelsea have confirmed eight players have been released from their squad.

Amongst the list are Henrique Hilario, Ross Turnbull, Paulo Ferreira, Florent Malouda and Yossi Benayoun.

Also leaving are young trio Amin Affane, Archange Nkumu and Aziz Deen-Conteh, after failing to meet the required standards at youth and reserve level.

Malouda has been cast out of the Chelsea team all year and forced to play with the reserves, so his release comes as no surprise to the player or the fans. Despite his decline in the last few seasons, the Frenchmen should still be remembered for his fantastic 2009/10 season that ended with Chelsea's first Premier League in four years.

Paulo Ferreira is a fan favourite for his commitment to the club despite not seeing much playing time on the field. Unlike Malouda, he had a chance to wave good bye to the fans at the last game of the season against Everton. He was key to Mourinho's Premier League winning side back in 2005.

On the contrary, Yossi Benayoun has never been admired by Chelsea fans and will not be missed on and off the pitch.

The release of keepers Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull leaves Chelsea with a hole in the squad. The London club now only have one keeper, the Czech Player of the Year Petr Cech, in their squad.

The potential solution may be to call up young talents Jamal Blackman and Matej Delac to the first team or bring back on loan 'keeper Thibaut Courtois from Atletico Madrid.

Source:

[Shola Sholaz]

Wow! Never knew Malouda could be on this list at all. He's fast becoming a useless player and he hasn't realised yet.