The World Cup may be well underway with the knockout stages awaiting at the weekend, but Chelsea's return to training on Tuesday is perhaps the first sign of normality being about to return. It's just over three weeks until the Premier League season kicks back into action, and with that it becomes impossible to ignore the looming transfer window.
The prospects for January and beyond were on the agenda for Graham Potter and his conversations with the hierarchy, as the Blues look to form their strategy following the appointment of Paul Winstanley, in addition to the incoming Joe Shields and Laurence Stewart, as Director of Global Talent and Transfers.
While there may be January priorities, two players who will be firmly on Chelsea's wishlist this summer will be Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice. The latter has just over 18 months left on his contract and has already spoken about playing in the Champions League, while Bellingham has a lengthy list of admirers including Real Madrid, Man City and Liverpool.
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A Champions League place would appear imperative for the Blues to be successful in either quest but landing any of the duo would be a statement from the club.
Wayne Bridge believes that signing both would be a big boost for the club, while landing an English duo would allow Chelsea to build an English core and foster success in a similar way to what Jose Mourinho did when he first arrived in 2004. The former Chelsea and Man City defender knows it will not be an easy task, however.
Bridge told football.london: "They're the future aren't they? Youngs guys at the top of their game, great talent. He's great Jude, I think he's probably one of England's best players and he's going to be around a long time. Obviously Declan, he sits in that midfield, he can make teams tick sometimes.
"He's playing that [Claude] Makelele-type role, he's great defensively, he's great at passing and he is actually technically a very skilful player as well. I've seen stuff in training that he does with the ball - he's a very good player and an intelligent player as well.
"I'd like to see both. In the Premier League these days you need a lot of good players. You don't need just 11 good players, you need 22, 25 players. They would be perfect for Chelsea. It would be great. Especially English, when I first went to Chelsea, you get that English core. It was really good from Roman and Chelsea to get a load of English players in, it creates a good core and they seem like good lads.
"For me, it would be a no-brainer. It's just can you get them? There's going to be a lot of people wanting them."
Signings that match the calibre of Bellingham and Rice, would clearly benefit the Blues' strength in depth. Bridge believes that notion is key if Chelsea hope to compete at the highest level.
As such, providing some back-up for Reece James may be a more easily achievable goal. The Chelsea academy product is among the world's best in his position, but has seen difficulty with injuries over the past 12 months. Potter has relied upon an array of players to deputise, including Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher - none come close to James, however.
While it may bring some difficulties, Bridge reckons that bringing in a player to support James can only be of benefit.
He said: "Yeah, definitely. Just because, I remember when Mourinho turned up and he wanted 22. He wanted two players for every position that were at the top of their game. He didn't want an average player. It is hard because you've got to keep those players happy. If someone did go, they would sign another top quality player.
"I do believe you need it to go and win Premier Leagues and Champions Leagues and things like that because you do pick up injuries. It is good to have a top quality squad all of the way through, you need that."
Wayne Bridge has teamed up with Samsung to offer fans the opportunity to win a live and immersive football experience of the semi finals and final at their exclusive Neo QLED 8K viewing pod, powered by Quantum Dot technology, at their Samsung KX space in London . Winners will also receive free snacks and drinks in the pod, as well as £300 worth of restaurant vouchers. To enter the competition, visit Samsung UK’s Facebook page here before 4th December. See here for full T&Cs.
For more information on Samsung’s Neo QLED TV range including Neo QLED 8K, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/uk/tvs/qled-tv/highlights/
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