Chelsea stars not guaranteed Premier League winners' medals even though Oscar and Branislav Ivanovic are
Only players who appear in more than five fixtures are guaranteed a medal, meaning Asmir Begovic, Nathan Ake, Ola Aina and Dominic Solanke could all miss out
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Your support makes all the difference.Asmir Begovic and Nathan Ake could both set to miss out on winners’ medals if Chelsea clinch the title – although Oscar and Branislav Ivanovic will collect theirs despite having left the club.
Chelsea will almost certainly pip London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the title and can wrap things up if they beat West Brom at the Hawthorns on Friday night.
The Premier League will provide Chelsea with 40 winners’ medals to share out among the players and staff should they win, but league rules dictate that players are only guaranteed a medal if they play a minimum of five matches.
Begovic played in 17 league matches last season but has started just once this year, while Ake has only started one match since Antonio Conte brought his successful loan spell at Bournemouth to a premature end.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has made five appearances off the bench and so will be assured of a medal, but youngsters Ola Aina, Dominic Solanke, Kenedy and Charly Musonda are all at risk of missing out.
However, players who left the club in the January transfer window will be eligible to receive their prize. Oscar made 9 appearances before departing for Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG, and Ivanović appeared 13 times prior to his transfer to Zenit Saint Petersburg.
There is still some hope for the players who stand to miss out on a medal, however. Chelsea get to choose how their 40 medals are allocated, meaning Conte can still decide to reward his fringe players if he sees fit.
Clubs only receive more than the limit of 40 medals if more than 39 players make an appearance during the season.
With three games of the current season remaining, Conte has used 23 different players.
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