Chelsea face a race against time to complete a number of transfers in the coming weeks. Mauricio Pochettino will be keen to get the majority of his business done prior to his official start date in July in order to meet a June 30 deadline for accounting purposes.
A number of issues remain unanswered ahead of the opening of the transfer window. A new goalkeeper, centre-midfielder and striker are all areas that are expected to be upgraded in the coming months, while a list of players have been put up for sale to trim the playing squad.
With work to be done between now and the first game of the season in August, football.london takes a look around the big stories surrounding the Blues.
Lukaku transfer appointment
The curious case of Romelu Lukaku's future continues. After missing a sitter in Saturday's Champions League final against Manchester City, the question remains whether the Belgian will return to Stamford Bridge or not.
Inter and Chelsea are due to hold talks in the coming weeks over a number of subjects, with Lukaku at the forefront. A number of swap proposals have been made, if reports are to be believed, in a bid to bring goalkeeper Andre Onana to Chelsea, including offers that would see Lukaku and Kalidou Koulibaly go the other way.
However, the opportunity of a return to the San Siro may be off the cards amid reports that Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal have held talks with Lukaku over a possible summer move. According to GOAL, the striker is set to be offered a two-year deal worth £43million following an appointment between the player and club.
football.london says: Lukaku looks all-but-certain to end his difficult time at Chelsea. His move from Inter hasn't worked out the way he would have hoped for and he hasn't done his reputation any good with his performances this season.
However, with Chelsea's issues in attack a glaring problem, Pochettino may decide against sanctioning the deal and deploy the 30-year-old as his main striker. The move to Saudi Arabia is gradually becoming a popular choice among footballers, for many reasons, but remaining in England and proving his worth could be more tempting.
Mbappe breaks silence
Despite signing a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain last May, Kylian Mbappe's future is once again up for dispute after it emerged that he had turned down the chance to trigger an extra one-year extension to his contract.
The decision has sparked doubts over his future, with Real Madrid and Chelsea supposedly interested in the striker. PSG will want to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 2024, meaning a possible deal could be on the cards this summer and they will want to recoup the $195m they spent to buy him from Monaco.
Le Parisien reported on Tuesday that the France international wants to join Madrid, a story that was quickly rebuffed by the man himself. In a quote tweet reply, he wrote: "LIES...At the same time, the bigger it is, the more it passes. I have already said that I will continue next season at PSG where I am very happy."
football.london says: Any football club would love to line-up with Mbappe up front. However, not many can justify the millions of pounds that it would cost to, first, pay PSG, and second, pay the player himself on a weekly basis.
A move to the Santiago Bernabeu has always looked likely for Mbappe, especially last season. However, Todd Boehly's vision at Stamford Bridge automatically makes Chelsea a possibility. The American businessman has made his desire to sign a global superstar known in the past with interest in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Mbappe would be next level.
It would obviously be an excellent piece of business from Chelsea and one that would lift them as one of the favourites to compete for the Premier League. However, if Mbappe's plan is to stay at PSG for this season, the Blues will have to wait until January to try and structure a pre-contract agreement.
READ NEXT:
Mauricio Pochettino has already told Chelsea about Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane transfer dream
Chelsea already have dream Kylian Mbappe partner after transfer announcement confirmed
