Could Branislav Ivanovic’s days at Chelsea be numbered?

Chelsea last week completed the signing of Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid and it’s expected that he will slot in as the automatic choice for the left-back spot Cesar Azpilicueta occupied last season, but it’s Branislav Ivanovic that should be worried over his place.

 The Serbian had a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge but eventually made the right-back position his own by ousting Jose Bosingwa, who suffered a serious knee injury, during Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in West London. His form was recognised by his peers as he was named in the PFA 2009-10 Team of the Year.

Since then Azpilicueta has been the only player that has threatened his place but many suspected that Jose Mourinho wasn’t overly keen on the Spanish fullback as he preferred Ivanovic last season and Azpilicueta only found a way in due to Ashley Cole’s form and injury issues, but it’s not clear if his revelation at left-back was by accident or design.

Either way, Mourinho was suitably impressed and has spoken highly of the 24-year-old, who was arguably the most impressive and most consistent member of the back four during the last campaign. It would be unfair for him to find his way back to the bench to perform as understudy for a man that isn’t a natural right-back, wastes the width he’s often afforded and cannot deliver when he joins the attack.

Last season Mourinho recognised that the Blues’ defence weren’t particularly adept at moving the ball from front to back quickly and Petr Cech’s kicking has always been one of his weaknesses, so Ivanovic was there to give air to the kicks up-field as Chelsea went direct more often than not. His aerial prowess has always been his strength – especially at set-pieces – but Ivanovic is otherwise limited.

This will no longer be a necessity with Thibaut Courtois expected to start between the sticks whilst Cech concentrates on his rehabilitation and the likes of Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa are more than capable of challenging aerially. Chelsea can’t afford to play the sort of football they did last term and Mourinho knows that  no-one will buy any talk of ‘little horses’, least of all Roman Abramovich.

Azpilicueta is the most natural full-back in the squad and will make much better use of the space Ivanovic often enjoyed (mostly because the opposition let him have the ball) last season. That’s not to say that the Serbian is useless but he has a specific set of skills that lend themselves to being a utility player for certain instances, not a starter and not if Chelsea want to attack with pace from back to front.