Chelsea have a number of delicate transfer decisions to make this summer. Signings need to be made that can impact the first team immediately, decisions on the futures of returning loan players, assessments made on Cobham products and more as Thomas Tuchel looks to rebuild his team.
With the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in addition to the pending exit of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan on loan, there is no doubt some room open within Tuchel's first team squad. Trevoh Chalobah showed last term than the Blues own talent can break through under the German coach, and there are a number of contenders to follow in his footsteps.
Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja had impressive outings on loan in the Premier League, and speaking towards the end of the season, Tuchel noted his intention that he wanted to observe the returning stars during pre-season.
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He said: "First of all, they will come back because they are our players. When we send them on loan, we do this for them but also for us to have better players, more experienced players back. They are our players, and I want to have them in pre-season, and then we decide what's going on.
"It's heavily linked to them, to how they integrate and what they do and what our ideas are for them and what they want to reach. It's heavily linked to our sanctions and the situation around the club. It is too early to predict the future for them given the role of the whole season, but they will be back for pre-season, that's for sure."
Nevertheless, interest from elsewhere could tempt members of the Chelsea squad with promises of first team football. West Ham are reported to be launching a £30 million bid for the Albania international, with a number of other clubs also hoping to turn Broja's head.
The 20-year-old has a contract at the club until 2026, which he signed before going to Southampton on loan last season. That leaves Chelsea in a strong position for any negotiations, with no need to necessarily sell, even if Broja can not force his way into Tuchel's immediate plans.
Any sale would leave the Blues hoping to avoid a repeat of the situation they found themselves in with Marc Guehi's departure to Crystal Palace. The Cobham product was entering the final year of his deal but was desperate to find first team football. A year later, Chelsea are without Rudiger and Christensen, and it appears an opportunity was missed with a degree of failure on the part of Marina Granovskaia.
With Lukaku set to return to the San Siro on loan, and as a consequence unlikely to have a Chelsea future going forward in future years, a scenario where the Blues cannot call upon Broja and are short up front is not farfetched. While Chelsea have managed without a striker at times, selling a forward without a pressing need to do so could see Todd Boehly and Tuchel acknowledging an error in the not too distant future.
Despite the Blues' strong negotiating position, they must be wary of how they deal with West Ham. An agreement for Broja could act as a positive makeweight for any transfer concerning Declan Rice in the future. Whether the risk of the young forward departing is an acceptable caveat to see the England midfielder arrive at Stamford Bridge may be a divisive question, depending on the total package.
However, given the Irons don't appear to have immediate plans for Rice to depart, if the Blues are willing to engage over a deal it will come with the knowledge that it could have impact on any future dealings the clubs have. This may leave the Blues in a slightly stronger position given Rice only has two years remaining on his contract, but if they hope to land the former Cobham trainee any earlier, they will have to ensure they do not provoke a premium price because of the way they have negotiated in the past.
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