It was never an issue. We had Wright, Lampard and Demichelis bringing the average up, but the rest (particularly the ones that start every game) are players who were just getting to 30. We're in a perfect position to start thinking about bringing in younger challengers over the next few years.
How many years do you reckon these players have got left, at least as a rotation player?
Zabaleta (30)
Kompany (29)
Fernandinho (30)
Toure (32)
Clichy (29)
Silva (29)
Navas (29)
Dzeko (29)
Kolarov (29)
Sagna (32)
Caballero (33)
World class players can usually offer something well into their mid-30s, and from that list, I'd put Kompany, Zabaleta, Toure and Silva in that category. They might have to adapt their game, of course, and settle for slightly less time on the pitch in the later years. The rest could easily maintain their current performance levels until they're at least 32. Obviously some will be sold while they're still worth something. And for a keeper, 33 is nothing. So there's plenty of time to be thinking about the next generation, and it's pretty obvious that we're already looking at it with our transfer targets and loan recalls.
