Chelsea are moving quickly to ensure that their summer transfer window goes as planned to give new head coach Mauricio Pochettino the best possible starting position. The past year has seen the whole club turned upside down as new owners Boehly-Clearlake put their stamp on the project.
Key changes were made to almost every department behind the scenes, while on the pitch, the transition was made clearer as roughly £600million was spent on transfers. Some deals succeeded, others failed and for some, the jury is still out, but in all, it left the squad bloated.
Thomas Tuchel struggled to get results from his players before he was dismissed as Graham Potter was seen as the new man to lead the project forward. That didn't go to plan as he was dismissed, following a January window with plenty more spending from the ownership.
With Pochettino coming into turnaround a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League, the need to trim the squad is clear and has already begun. Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech all look set to undergo medicals in the coming days to complete their moves to the Saudi Pro League, with deals already agreed.
Mateo Kovacic is readying a switch to Manchester City and also looks set for tests before he confirms a transfer, while football.london understands that Kai Havertz is undergoing a medical at Arsenal this weekend ahead of a £65million move across London. Five exits will help trim that Chelsea squad down, but there's also a need to strengthen.
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They are moving closer to yet another deal this summer, having already confirmed both Kendry Paez and Christopher Nkunku in the window. Nicolas Jackson looks set to be the third addition to Chelsea, with the Villarreal youngster preparing a switch for roughly £31million.
The striker has completed his medical with the Blues, according to Fabrizio Romano, while his agent Diomansy Kamara all but confirmed the deal on social media, posting on Instagram: "Medical done. Deal on the way. Not finished yet. No rush, god time is always the best, Nicolas Jackson."
It remains to be seen how the transfer window will be judged when the deadline passes, but at this stage there's plenty of progress for Chelsea to reflect upon.
