Unexpectedly, Chelsea's pre-season turned rather sour after Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly joined the club.
Not because both have signed but more to do with the fact of what's happened next after the pair arrived in the States and into Thomas Tuchel's squad. The German has aimed for a host of signings this summer in a £200million rebuild but with under two weeks until the Premier League season opener against Everton, the squad is certainly not in a ready state.
Something the manager confirmed after the Arsenal defeat on the weekend. He said: "I can not guarantee. I saw today a team in Arsenal who are mentally committed to an idea of playing, a level of exhaustion, a level of physical commitment that we could not match.
READ MORE: Milan Skriniar to Chelsea transfer 'not easy' as Jules Kounde Barcelona blow confirmed
"Also, a level of mental commitment that we lacked because we have a lot of players who are thinking about leaving and looking at their options. We have players that have left and I think at the moment that's obvious."
With this in mind, football.london takes a look at the latest transfer rumours on this Tuesday morning.
Jules Kounde
"This Kounde saga is moving towards its end, so soon we will know for certain where he plays and Barcelona are now leading the race," Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano updated on Que Golazo.
With multiple hints being dropped in the form of a shirt leak and house hunting plans in the works, the Blues are understandably tired of the whole situation and are said to be in the process of identifying alternatives with defeat looking likely.
One of his former clubs Bordeaux, like Chelsea, are also unhappy with the way things are going. The Ligue 1 regulars would reportedly prefer the Blues bid to be accepted over Barca's due to their sell-on clause for the French star.
Joan Laporta and the rest of the Barca board are expected to formulate a bid that will reach near £55million, but will be largely add-ons based which will annoy Bordeaux.
They have a 20% sell-on clause on any Kounde deal meaning they will and are set to receive less money if their former defender was to opt for the Camp Nou over Stamford Bridge.
Read the full story here.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Super agent Jorge Mendes could once again try and offer Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea. Recent developments on Timo Werner could prompt manager Thomas Tuchel to do a U-turn on his initial stance in relation to the Portuguese star.
Ronaldo was a name that was hot on the agenda at one point of the transfer window, but just like with Neymar, Tuchel seems to have rejected the chance to sign the United star.
Atletico Madrid and others are circling for a player who still hasn't joined up with the United squad for pre-season due to 'family reasons' and who is expected to miss the start of the new Premier League season amid The Athletic's fresh update.. Chelsea now have a big decision to make - but is there any chance of a U-turn?
Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano brought this issue up on the latest Que Golazo podcast and revealed Mendes' plans to try and change Tuchel's mind.
He said: "We know they have been offered a chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. It's something that Jorge Mendes discussed with Chelsea but Thomas Tuchel said no 10-15 days ago.
Read more here.
Frenkie De Jong
Barcelona's business has come under some scrutiny this summer. Some have wondered how they've mustered up all the funds in there financial predicament to sign the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha and soon-to-be Jules Kounde.
Especially as they are in debt still to Blues and Man United target Frenkie De Jong who is being ordered to take a pay cut to stay at the Camp Nou despite the Dutchman having money that he is due but hasn't been payed yet by the La Liga giants.
Xavi, despite liking the player, wants to see de Jong move on. If he doesn't which seems likely currently, he could be moved back to centre-half. Regardless, Gary Neville has called Kounde and others to hold Barcelona to accountable in this situation as the former Valencia manager and now well known pundit unleashed a scathing attack of Barca on his social media.
He tweeted: "De Jong should consider legal action v Barcelona and all players should be behind him! A club spending fortunes on new players whilst not paying the ones they have under contract their full money is immoral and a breach. FIFPRO should be all over bullying like this and stop it."
Fikayo Tomori
Chelsea have been reminded of the monumental mistake they made with the Three Lions international. Their decision to sell him for a mere £25million to AC Milan, like Marc Guehi, has remarkably backfired since with the former Derby loanee instrumental in the Rossoneri's Serie A title win last term.
At a time where the Blues are being rejected left, right and centre from various centre-halves, if the previous regime would have put a little more trust in 24-year-old, he could have been the answer internally to their defensive woes that are being sustained in the transfer market right now.
Fabrizio Romano said on the Que Golazo podcast: "I think they weren't trusting Tomori, 100%. Maybe they weren't expecting Tomori to be at the level he is currently at AC Milan.
"To answer you question, I think it has been a mistake because Fikayo Tomori is by far one of the best centre-backs we have here in Serie A, if not the best. He has been incredible.
"I still think he will be one of the best centre-backs in Europe very soon because he has been fantastic so far. To not include a buy-back option has been a mistake by Chelsea. But we've got to congratulate AC Milan because they did a fantastic piece of business in the January transfer window when it's usually really complicated to sign players.
"I think Tomori would have been a perfect player for Chelsea."
Cesar Azpilicueta
With the news of Kounde closing in on Barcelona, subsequent updates came out suggesting Chelsea had blocked talks with Barca for their Spanish pair of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
However, Spanish outlet Relevo have indicated that Barca are still confident of signing the pair and resolving their issues with Chelsea in the process.
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