Chelsea are developing a new tier of dressing room leadership to ensure a smooth transition when club captain John Terry leaves next month at the end of his contract.
Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta are preparing step forward to shoulder more responsibilities when they lose Terry, who has led the players through the successful Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge.
'Obviously, JT is a big loss,' said Azpilicueta, who led out the team for the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday in the absence of Terry, Cahill and Hazard.
'We will miss him but the players who are coming from behind have to take more responsibilities and to lead the team.