Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca inevitably faced questions on the club’s interest in Victor Osimhen and Joao Felix before his first competitive game in charge against Manchester City.
The Blues are still pushing to make more signings in another big-spending and busy summer window that has already brought 10 new arrivals in the form of Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Renato Veiga, Omari Kellyman, Caleb Wiley, Mike Penders and Aaron Anselmino.
After a £34.5million swoop for Spain Under-21 forward Samu Omorodion collapsed at the 11th hour over contract details last weekend, Chelsea then entered talks over a shock permanent return to Stamford Bridge for Atletico Madrid team-mate Felix.
Chelsea hope to seal a £40m deal for their former loanee, allowing midfielder Conor Gallagher to finally complete his own £33m switch to Atletico.
Amid those talks over Omorodion and Felix, the club also retained their long-term interest in Nigeria international Osimhen, with Napoli again this week trying to secure a part-exchange deal that would see Romelu Lukaku reunite with former manager Antonio Conte in Serie A.
Reports claim that discussions over both deals remain ongoing. Maresca would not be drawn on specific names ahead of Sunday’s high-profile visit of reigning champions and former club Manchester City to west London on Premier League opening weekend, but did express hope that Chelsea would add further to their cohort of new signings before the transfer window officially shuts for business again in England on the night of August 30.
“The only thing I can say, I have to say the same: They are not our players, so it's not correct to talk about a Napoli player or an Atletico Madrid player,” Maresca told reporters, per Fabrizio Romano, when asked about Felix and Osimhen on Friday.
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“The club knows exactly what I think and hopefully before the window shuts we can bring in some more players.”
Chelsea’s latest spending spree has seen the size of their already large squad balloon to more than 40 players, with several departures now likely before the deadline as the club seek to trim that bloated number.
Maresca admitted that some players are not currently training with the first team at Cobham in preparation for late window exits.
“We were in America [for pre-season] for 20 days with 28 or 29 players,” he said. “We have guys that are not involved and are training apart. At the moment, it is not difficult. If I start to think I have 43 players, it's probably not a good thing.”
On the issue of outgoings, Maresca insisted responsibility to secure such sales rests with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
“This question is for Paul and Laurence,” he said. “They are trying to find solutions for these type of players. I am not the guy in charge of finding solutions for young players, otherwise they have to pay me double.”
Lesley Ugochukwu is preparing to join newly-promoted Southampton on loan, while on Friday Diego Moreira joined Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg on a permanent basis.
The likes of Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson, Hakim Ziyech, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva have already left Chelsea this summer in addition to loan exits for players such as Alfie Gilchrist, Gabriel Slonina and Eddie Beach, while new arrivals Anselmino and Wiley are also now out on loan.
Along with Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, Carney Chukwuemeka, Mason Burstow, David Datro Fofana and Kepa Arrizabalaga are among the other players that could all yet leave Chelsea this month.
