1. David Luiz
Last season under Conte, Luiz was frozen out of the Chelsea side and didn’t play a single minute of competitive action after February. The Brazilian is said to have fallen out with his former manager, after criticising the Italian’s tactics following a 3-0 Champions League defeat away at Roma.
However, he started both the Community Shield game with Manchester City, and the opening day draw with Huddersfield, suggesting Sarri is prepared to give him another chance.
Everyone was shocked when Conte bought Luiz back from PSG to Chelsea in 2016. He went on to play a key role in the centre of a back three as the Blues strolled to the title. However, he suffered as much as anyone last season, and had Conte remained at Chelsea, he most certainly would have been out the door.
Under Sarri he will be encouraged to pass the ball out from the back, and there is no one in English football better at that than Luiz. He is superb on the ball, and will really suit the way his new manager wishes to play.
2. Ross Barkley
Barkley is almost the forgotten man of English football at the moment. In a summer where the country got behind so many young players at the World Cup in Russia, Barkley, who was once seen as one of the most promising prospects in England, was at home, having missed much of last season with injury. However, he has now had a full pre-season, so will be looking for a better campaign this time around.
Although he has struggled for football over the past 12 months, Barkley is still an exceptionally talented footballer, and at 24, still has time to get his career back on track. The former Everton man started their game at Huddersfield this weekend, suggesting that Sarri is prepared to give him the opportunity to impress. He has all the attributes to suit a team managed by Sarri, so he may finally be able to fulfil his potential.
3. N’Golo Kante
During his three years in the Premier League, Kante has perhaps been the best centre midfielder in the country, if not all of Europe. He has been seen more as a defensive midfielder in that time, during which he has won two Premier League titles and an FA Cup, as well as winning the World Cup with France this summer.
We saw something different from Kante in the opening game of the season at Huddersfield. Whereas he has been the only defensive minded player in the Chelsea midfield in recent years, that could change this year, with Jorginho happy to play at the base of a midfield three, sitting deep and dictating play.
This gives Kante more freedom going forward, and he has the engine to get up and down the field, and we saw that when he scored Chelsea’s first goal of the season with a volley at the John Smith’s Stadium.
