Deespite a mammoth squad of 32 players, Frank Lampard is watching his Chelsea group get smaller and smaller by the day. The interim coach only has three games left to see out for the season ahead of a summer expected to be full of change.
Not only will there be a new manager in charge - still likely to be Mauricio Pochettino after football.london understands a deal has been agreed with the Blues - but there will also be a mass clearout of players. It could leave the incumbent head coach with at least 15 players fewer on his hands.
Given that Lampard is now without Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Mason Mount, Reece James, Armando Broja, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly and potentially now Benoit Badiashile too, until the end of the season, even a squad as large as Chelsea's is looking depleted in certain areas.
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The No. 9 role has been an issue throughout the campaign and was only made worse when Armando Broja was ruled out for over nine months with a knee injury in December. The plethora of midfield options has kept that area of the pitch relatively fresh but in recent weeks it has been stretched.
Both Kante and Kovacic were lost before the 2-2 with Nottingham Forest, leaving Carney Chukwuemeka to remain behind from early England Under-20 World Cup action. In defence, Lewis Hall had the same blow as he was kept at Cobham until the end of the group stages, too.
Elsewhere in defence there are now gaping holes, with 38-year-old Thiago Silva, 33-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana the only remaining fit options. Not that it is a bad crop, far from it, but it is a long way from the overflowing pool Lampard had at his disposal just four weeks ago.
It is also far from the ideal way to prepare for a trip to Manchester City on Sunday. It does send a clear message to Pochettino ahead of the summer, though. Chelsea's backline has a startling lack of balance to it, with only two players between 23 and 31. Out of a group that is 10-strong, it's a worry.
Todd Boehly and Co invested heavily across the board last year and in January with 20-year-old right-back Malo Gusto to join at the end of the season. In a world whereby there are no players leaving and Levi Colwill returns it would be two players - Chilwell (26) and Cucurella (24) - between 23 and 31 out of what then becomes 12 options.
Colwill, 20, is expected to rejoin and be a serious contender for centre-back roles across formations. He is held in top regard by those at Cobham, Pochettino and across Europe, it is understood. The club are likely to elevate him to serious first team contender for the new campaign despite Roberto De Zerbi's best efforts at flirting with a move.
The Brighton boss has praised Colwill throughout the season - one in which he struggled for minutes until November - and said last week: "I would like to work with him [Colwill] for another two, three, four years.
"It’s difficult to find a another centre-back, left centre-back, with his quality. He’s a good guy, I think he’s improving a lot. This year his improvement has been fantastic. I hope he can stay with us."
Colwill himself has been in and out with injuries and fitness worries. “No he is fatigued, I didn't play him, but for Sunday he can play for sure," the Italian boss said ahead of Brighton's 4-1 hammering at the hands of Newcastle. That was a far cry from the 3-0 win against Arsenal earlier in the week, a game that Colwill played and stood-out in.
For now, Lampard isn't able to call upon Colwill and he can't even rely on Badiashile to finish off the season either after the Frenchman was ruled out of the clash with Manchester City. "Benoit has injured himself in training two days ago, his groin and will miss the game. We're assessing that now as we speak," the 44-year-old said.
As well as Badiashile, Chelsea's failure to keep their backline fit has been proven all season long. Chilwell and James are both consistent injury worries, Silva's age makes him a doubt and had a longer-term setback earlier this season too. Azpilcueta has struggled physically for multiple years and could leave this summer.
Koulibaly himself has been hit and miss for fitness and form throughout whilst Fofana still remains a risk due to his lengthy time out with a knee injury last year. It all makes for a highly unsettled defence for Pochettino to walk into. If there was ever a better reason to keep Colwill, then Badiashile's latest shred of evidence certainly holds some weight.
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