Chelsea's squad selection for final pre-season game against Udinese hints at a double departure of fringe stars being imminent as Thomas Tuchel prepares to trim his squad over the forthcoming days.
On the incomings front, the Blues have been going about their business in a steady fashion with Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly's acquisitions improving two key areas of the team. However, a lot more is needed very soon as four more signings on top of the aforementioned two were promised to manager Tuchel when he was given his £200million plus budget by Todd Boehly at the start of the summer.
With the incomings though, outgoings will need to happen at the same time to free up space in the squad and most importantly on the wage bill. The likes of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have been linked to various clubs since the transfer window opened but it's another duo that are seemingly closer, judging by the latest team hints.
READ MORE: Chelsea confirm Timo Werner injury blow ahead of Udinese as RB Leipzig transfer plea made
As Chelsea confirmed earlier in the day, neither Michy Batshuayi or Ross Barkley were on the plane for the final pre-season encounter in Udine.
This may be due to the fact that a certain Premier League club are closing in on the duo. Frank Lampard and Everton are keen to raid the Blues this summer and 90min have reported that the Toffees are in talks with the pair.
The report also clarified that the club are also interested in taking Billy Gilmour and Armando Broja to Goodison Park, but the two young stars are in the travelling cohort, suggesting that talks for the pair are certainly less advanced.
Everton have so far signed Burnley's Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski as well as Wolves' Ruben Vinagre this summer, and Batshuayi and Barkley could be next through the doors if reports are to be believed. That itself will be viewed as a relief to Tuchel, who has so far struggled to generate interest in a number of his fringe players, as per The Telegraph.
If his urgent appeal for quality players was to be heard and acted upon by Boehly, then all indications pointing towards the next few days and weeks being busy off the field for the west Londoners as they rush to get in a ready state for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign.
"I cannot guarantee [we will be ready]. 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," the Champions League winning boss said after a defeat against Arsenal.
"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."
Follow live coverage of Udinese vs Chelsea here.
Chelsea fans- How many fringe players do you want to see be sold this summer? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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