Eden Hazard, David Luiz, Pedro – who else could follow Antonio Conte out of Stamford Bridge?

ByDan Levene

Updated 26/03/2018 at 11:49 GMT

With a managerial change looking a certainty for Chelsea this summer, big switches in playing staff look likely too. Dan Levene on the players looking closest to the Stamford Bridge door, come the season's end.

It looks like being all-change for the Blues this closed-season, but which faces might we be seeing for the last time before May is over?

• Antonio Conte owes Chelsea an FA Cup
• The Warm-Up: England begins to expect, goalkeepers talk balls again, PSG count on Conte

The obvious place to start is surely with David Luiz.

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Seemingly surplus to requirements under Antonio Conte this campaign, he has been content to act out the season as a squad player – ousted from the first XI by ball-playing centre half Andreas Christensen.

But tuning 31 before the season is out, and with just a year left on his contract, this summer represents the last opportunity for Chelsea to make money on the Brazilian, before he becomes a veteran in the club's usual contractual sense.

China or America are where the money lies, but Luiz surely still has the ability to make a difference in the French or Italian leagues too.

Another man in the same position on pitch at least, is Gary Cahill.

Gary Cahill was pleased with three points for Chelsea against Crystal Palace

Image credit: PA Sport

The Englishman has been a remarkable servant to Chelsea since joining in 2012: wining literally every trophy a player can pick-up in domestic and European football.

But this season, at the age of 32, anno domini has weighed heavy.

He has struggled to make the first team, as Christensen's experience has developed; and also having a year left on his deal, this would be the time most expect Chelsea to cash in.

Like Luiz, he still has plenty left to give: and there will surely be other Premier League clubs looking to take advantage of that.

Some way behind the pair of them, in both positioning and years, is Thibaut Courtois.

He turns 26 on the last weekend of the Premier League season, and has been making noises for some time about a wish to return to his former home in Spain: where he has a young family.

The issue has long been whether one of the big two La Liga sides might be interested – given his wage expectations there is no other place for him realistically to go.

But after a season lacking in superlatives, any sizeable bid might be persuasive at this stage for Chelsea.

Pedro is a name many may not expect to see on this list, but age and contract are again part of the issue here.

The Spaniard is 30, and is another of those whose deal ends in summer 2019.

Looking forward to that point, are Chelsea likely to give another one-year deal to the then 31-year-old? Or would now be the time to recoup some of the value left in the existing one?

The latter looks a more likely scenario from this viewpoint.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Image credit: Reuters

Cesc Fabregas's name is almost interchangeable with that of his countryman's.

He reaches the age of 31 on the season's penultimate weekend, and also has the lone contracted year to go at that point.

He is one of Chelsea's biggest wage drains: something few could argue has been borne out by this season's contribution.

One final name for this list is the one that will cause most angst throughout the summer for fans of the club: Eden Hazard.

Keeping him at Chelsea has, in recent years, been seen by some as an indication of the level of ambition still maintained at Stamford Bridge's highest levels.

Realistically, though, it has always been the case that, like any other player in blue: Hazard has a price, and if that is met, then he will go.

The Belgian has two years left on his contract and, at 27, this is a key time for both him and his employer.

Noises of disaffection with the present managerial order have been widely reported of late: will a change there placate him; and will the sort of big-numbers deal that Chelsea feel matches his value come in?

That, alongside replacements for some of these names, will clearly be among the main sagas to play-out over the coming summer in west London.

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