Napoli coach Benitez has been linked with a move for the Blues duo of Juan Mata and David Luiz, who are both seemingly out of favour under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. Both players were regulars under Benitez last season but are no longer guaranteed a start in the first team.

The error-prone Luiz has made way for Terry in the starting line-up with Mourinho preferring to partner him alongside Gary Cahill at the heart of Chelsea’s defence. What Chelsea fans have been most surprised about is the omission of Mata, their player of the season for the past two years. Mourinho has deployed him mainly from the bench as Oscar is his first choice playmaker.

With Mata not a regular under Mourinho, he has been tipped to leave the Bridge this January with the World Cup in mind. Napoli, chasing Champions League football in Serie A, are strongly linked with Mata as well as Luiz but ESPN has reported that no deal is imminent with Benitez publicly ruling out a move for both players.

He said, “The January transfer window is difficult. For example, it’s not easy to find players who are better than [Federico] Fernandez and [Miguel] Britos. It’s unthinkable that Chelsea, who have to win the Premier League and the Champions League, would deprive themselves of David Luiz or Mata.”