Chelsea will take on Leeds United on Sunday without N’Golo Kante, who will be out for a month following his hamstring injury sustained in the explosive 2-2 draw at home to Spurs at the weekend.
The French international midfielder had a second scan on Tuesday and it’s believed that the tear is not as deep as first expected.
He will miss the next three matches and will not return to action until after the international break.
By that time, it is expected that the Blues will have made three more signings.
Top of the list is Leicester City’s centre-back Wesley Fofana, the 21-year-old Frenchman is seen as the long-term replacement for Thiago Silva. The Brazilian has been exceptional for Chelsea but he will be 38 by the time the World Cup starts in December.
Chelsea’s co-owner Todd Boehly will have to up the price to around £80million. He has already had bids of £45m and £60m rejected by the Foxes.
It’s understood personal terms between Fofana and the Blues are already in place.
At the other end of the pitch, a replacement for Timo Werner could see England U21 winger Anthony Gordon head down the M1 from Everton to London.
Again, it’s a case of trying to agree a deal for the youngster, who will struggle to get regular first team action in west London.
It’s one thing starting for a Toffees side who narrowly avoided relegation last season and is firmly rooted at the bottom of the Premier League at present, and to start for a side operating at the other end of the table.
An initial offer of £40m was rejected by the Toffeemen, but it’s expected Boehly will return early next week with a bid of £55m.
If Chelsea fail in their preferred first-team striker option in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then Gordon could have more than a bench-warming blanket to look forward to.
Barcelona will offload Aubameyang, who they got on a free from Arsenal in January – and will be tickled pink if they could get £25m for the 32-year-old striker.
With the transfer window still having a couple of weeks to run, this is one of those deals that could drag on until the last minutes.
Sitting between Gordon and Fofana, head coach Thomas Tuchel hopes to have Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei – well, at least as a future prospect.
The 19-year-old from Inter Milan would be expected to be either loaned back to the Italians or farmed out to another club in Europe where he can get some first-team minutes under his belt. He has yet to feature for the Milan side’s senior team.
To balance the books, Boehly will be hoping to get rid of perceived dead wood in the form of Michy Batshuayi and Ross Barkley. Neither will play first-team football again for the Blues, but neither is prepared to lower their wage expectations either.
This is putting off potential suitors, while it’s believed Chelsea don’t want to significatively subsidise their wages.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is a player Chelsea want to see playing football – just not at Stamford Bridge.
The winger, still only 21, is a major financial asset to the Blues which they feel can only increase in the coming years. He could be moved out to Newcastle United or Crystal Place – both are very keen.
Chelsea women are in Portland, Oregon to play in the Women’s International Champions Cup, Chelsea. They lost 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw with Lyon and will face hosts Portland Thorns in a third-place play-off tomorrow.Grandly called the Women’s International Champions Cup, Chelsea were due to face Lyon last night before playing either Portland Thorns or CF Monterrey tomorrow.
Then it is back to London where they will play Spurs in a friendly at Kingsmeadow on August 28.
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