Another round of the World Cup 2018 qualifiers is done and dusted with, and there were quite a few 'Blues' representing their nations. Most put in some noteworthy performances and were at the end of positive results, while there were a few who did not have as good a game as per their standards.
Chelsea loanee Lucas Piazon slams absurd loan system
It is surprising how the Blues ignore the wealth of talent they have at hand. Instead, big money moves are what they normally go for.
A Brazil squad fresh from their victory against Ecuador host a Colombia squad who have won their last three consecutive matches, in the CONMEBOL 2018 World Cup Qualifiers
The African Cup of Nations is scheduled to begin in January and with the qualifications drawing to a close, the Premier League is set to miss out on some star names for a period of a month. It will be interesting to see how the league copes without them.
While most clubs are going to miss some player or the other during the African Cup of Nations, the tournament will not affect the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.
Manchester United have made a splendid start to the campaign, winning all three of their Premier League matches and Bailly has been involved in some stellar performances. His absence will leave a void in the back line and having settled into squad, he will be missed, albeit it being for a few matches.
While it is a certainty that Sadio Mane will represent Senegal, the same cannot be said about Cameroon international Joel Matip, who last represented his country back in Septemper 2015.
Ozil himself wore the number 10 shirt back during his Real Madrid days but was given the number 11 for Arsenal.
Although there were some really talented players brought in, not many big signings were made and it remains to be seen how effective these signings would be in the long run.
From Flamini's perspective, it will be a very tough decision to make. There are no obvious chhooices. For sure Roma looks like the last option, but the other clubs can all give him regular game time. Olympiakos, Roma and Milan almost regularly play Champions League football, so that is something which Flamini should consider as well. However, should he want to stay in the Premier League, Palace would be more than willing to recruit him.
