The pressure on Chelsea to sign a central midfielder in the remaining hours of the transfer window has increased as two players look set to leave the club.
Thomas Tuchel has been desperate to sign a new player for the centre of the pitch but has also sanctioned the departures of two players that could fill the void in his squad. There is currently just one available choice, Jorginho, with Mateo Kovacic still returning from injury, N'Golo Kante out for at least four more weeks, Conor Gallagher returning from suspension and Ruben Loftus-Cheek nursing his own knock.
With late deadline day deals for Billy Gilmour and Ethan Ampadu authorised, Chelsea could be plunged into a hole. Both youngsters are able to play in a double-pivot role, with Ampadu also capable of being an effective defensive midfielder - the biggest remaining need for the rest of the window.
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These two deals have been put under the spotlight even more with the emergence of news that will make Chelsea fans, and possibly Tuchel, panic. A late move for Edson Alvarez is now in danger as Ajax reportedly see the player as indispensable, with Mike Verweij of the Dutch Telegraph writing that the player is pushing for a move away but his club are not interested as they are no longer able to sign replacements with the Eredivisie window closing on Wednesday.
football.london understands that a bid was made, worth £43million, but despite talks ongoing, Ajax do not want to sell the player. This has made the news that Gilmour is close to a move to Brighton even worse for Blues fans. The £9million fee for the Scottish international has only added insult to injury, making the remaining hours extremely important for Tuchel and Todd Boehly.
Whereas there is a contingency plan in place for the future of Chelsea's midfield, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei both have high pedigree, the short-term options look limited and allowing two promising players to leave whilst also claiming there are no available options is something that will only add pressure to Tuchel during a tough start to the season already.
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