Chelsea have already spent heavily in the summer transfer market as Thomas Tuchel looks to rebuild his squad.
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella were through the door ahead of the new season, but the manager is now working on bolstering his midfield with a deal for Frenkie de Jong.
As reported by Standard Sport, Chelsea are hoping that the lure of Champions League football will be enough to turn De Jong's head and agree to a deal which will cost less than £71million.
Tuchel has big plans for De Jong and his potential arrival opens up three possible formations.
Replacing Jorginho
Jorginho has been one of Chelsea's most consistent performers, again stood out during pre-season and, of course, scored the only goal in their opening-weekend win over Everton.
De Jong's arrival, though, puts Jorginho's role under threat in a 3-4-3 as Tuchel would likely use the Dutchman alongside N'Golo Kante, a Tuchel favourite. As Kante mops up, De Jong, a tempo-setting midfielder can link defence to midfield and midfield to attack. The double pivot is De Jong’s bread and butter, therefore, by connecting the back three with the wing-backs and forward line.
Middle of the three
De Jong can also play in a midfield three, which allows Tuchel to move to a 3-5-2, depending on his options in attack. A strong presence up front - which both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were meant to be, but were not - would allow Sterling to do this thing. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been linked.
With the introduction of five substitutes this season, more flexibility in midfield will mean the likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic can see more minutes if not a regular starter. In a 3-5-2, one can be the holder alongside two runners, one of the latter being De Jong. This is where the likes of Mason Mount come into the fold.
A double six
Another option is a 4-2-3-1 with De Jong in a double six. Tuchel has used this previously, to mixed results, but De Jong is better suited than either Jorginho or Kovacic.
Tuchel likes to have one of his sixes always available to build up play. So, De Jong can sit alongside Kante as the likes of Cucurella and James overlap to support Mount, who is in a central role ahead of Sterling, Kai Havertz or a possible new signing.
