Wesley Fofana, Marcos Alonso - Every transfer Chelsea…

Wesley Fofana, Marcos Alonso - Every transfer Chelsea still need to complete before deadline day

The final week of the transfer window awaits, and despite Chelsea's spending creeping towards £200million, it can't be ignored how much work Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel still have to do.

The Blues have already seen the arrivals of Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marc Cucurella, as well as several additions to the development squad, including Cesare Casadei and Omari Hutchinson. In the opposite direction, Chelsea's loan army has already started to form, while Emerson Palmieri, Timo Werner and Matt Miazga have left the club permanently.

A number of deals still need to happen, and Wesley Fofana, Anthony Gordon and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are taking up a great deal of space on the back pages. The Blues have seen a third bid rejected by Leicester City, but Brendan Rodgers' latest words have given cause for hope.

He said: "It's always better when it's done sooner rather than later. The player clearly wants to go, and it's about the clubs finding an agreement, so I think once that happens, it'll only be resolved then."

Likewise, for Gordon, it appears the case that Chelsea are required to meet Everton's fee or move on. Frank Lampard explained: "He's our player, everyone knows of Chelsea's interest, we have a good relationship, ideally (a quick resolution to the situation), or we carry on, and he's our player."

With regard to Aubameyang, football.london understands Chelsea are in advanced talks with Barcelona over a deal which is expected to cost around £20million. However, the Catalan giants have named Aubameyang in their squad for a friendly with Manchester City.

Heading elsewhere, the Blues have a number of players in footballing purgatory. Marcos Alonso, Baba Rahman, Ross Barkley, Billy Gilmour, Kenedy and Michy Batshuayi have spent most of the season away from first team training and have been pictured with the development squad. Ideally, new clubs will be found for all, whether it be permanently or via a loan.

Even among those currently making matchday squads, a number are seeking futures elsewhere. Ethan Ampadu, Trevoh Chalobah and Callum Hudson-Odoi are yet to play a minute for the Blues this term, and the trio are all drawing interest. Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech featured in defeat to Leeds but have also been linked to moves, with the latter seemingly coming closer to an Ajax return.

Whether all of those players will be allowed to leave in the same window remains to be seen. Indeed, Edouard Mendy's indifferent form may provide some pause to the prospect of Kepa Arrizabalaga heading to Napoli. - Napoli?

There are also some decisions and deals to be made for players who have aged out of the development squad process. Dujon Sterling would have been hopeful of a first-team opportunity earlier in the summer but has been recovering from an injury picked up against Borehamwood in pre-season and could head out on loan if the right opportunity arrives. The 22-year-old Juan Castillo will be looking for some success after two difficult loans at Birmingham and Charlton during 2021/22.

That is before turning to the development squad and looking at who is better served by an opportunity elsewhere rather than a season of Premier League 2. A selection of players headlined by Harvey Vale and Charlie Webster have entered the final year of their contracts at Cobham and perhaps need those resolved before a possible appropriate loan move can be found to earn some first-team experience.

With the numbers Chelsea have on loan currently only hitting 15 at the moment, it would be surprising if that figure did not rise to 20, while it has been known to reach as many as 30 players.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here