Chelsea return to action tonight, as the Premier League spotlight shines down upon their clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Given the Blues have virtually nothing to play for other than pride, most of which has already been sapped away given they have won just once under Frank Lampard, it is expected that Erik ten Hag's men will dominate proceedings under floodlights.

However, with a deal for Mauricio Pochettino seemingly secured, the desire to impress the manager-elect should remain a priority for the visiting squad, many of whom are still relatively new faces at Stamford Bridge.

Therefore, the caretaker boss should seek to give these younger names, the future of the club, the opportunity to embed themselves into English football, rather than persist with ageing stalwarts who have little left to offer.

One such example of this is Cesar Azpilicueta, who continues to find his way in and around the team despite having little to offer on the pitch and a contract that expires in 2024.

If Pochettino and Todd Boehly are serious about taking major strides forward next season, sentimentality must be expunged and players like the Spaniard should be offloaded. He cannot be allowed to start again tonight, or, ideally, ever again.

Will Cesar Azpilicueta play against Manchester United?

The 33-year-old was enlisted from the beginning last time out in their comfortable loss to Manchester City and was one of the standout failures for a team that could not hold a candle to the champions. It was a clash akin to an exhibition match, as Pep Guardiola rotated his side heavily and still cruised to a 1-0 win.

Azpilicueta would record a 6.4 rating, the joint-worst of any starter on the pitch, winning just three of the ten duels he competed in whilst being dribbled past twice and having just 43 touches all game, via Sofascore.

This kind of mediocrity has unfortunately become the norm for the £180k-per-week cult hero, who has only managed a 6.8 rating or lower across four of his last five league appearances.

Former writer Duncan Wright sought to highlight one "awful" display from the Blues stalwart, labelling him the "weak link" against the pace of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back in 2020.

Three years on, little has changed.

Given he could be faced with the task of quelling Marcus Rashford tonight, that is a matchup that few Chelsea fans would relish seeing.

The England international has scored 29 times in all competitions this campaign and remains a physically imposing figure for any full-back to deal with. His pace and size make for a difficult proposition, not least for the diminutive and ageing Azpilicueta.

He is far from the requisite pace now to compete at the level Pochettino will want to take this squad, and so Lampard should seek to offer anybody else his spot, to ensure last weekend was his final game in a blue shirt.