Chelsea have been hugely busy throughout the summer transfer window. North of £200 million has been spent on a vast number of key players, including offensive reinforcements in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz, a new left-back thanks to Ben Chilwell, and a Kepa Arrizabalaga replacement in the form of Edouard Mendy, which was officially announced this week.
However, with more than a week remaining in the transfer window, there is still much work for the Blues to do, including potential reinforcements in central midfield and a whole host of sales.
Frank Lampard has been keen to add elite-level talent to his squad, but now the numbers must be trimmed before the deadline.
No team has spent more than Chelsea thus far, and while Roman Abramovic is happy to bankroll such investment, Lampard cannot keep every player happy, as has been noticeable in the first two weeks of the season already.
Here is a round-up of the latest Chelsea transfer rumours.
Kante open to Chelsea exit
Following Antonio Conte’s departure from Stamford Bridge two years ago, N’Golo Kante has not been handed an integral role in the Chelsea midfield.
Moved into a box-to-box role by Maurizio Sarri and not always a consistent starter under Lampard, the French World Cup winner has rarely played in his best-suited defensive midfield position.
And now there are rumours linking him with a Chelsea exit and a reunion with Conte, who got the best out of the midfielder. According to Gazzetta dello Sport via Sports Mole, Kante is open to a move to Inter Milan, where Conte is the manager.
The report claims that Inter have been informed that a £46million offer is necessary to prise Kante away from Chelsea.
Chelsea have been linked with a move for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice, but need to make sales to complete a transfer for the Englishman.
PSG make Rudiger loan offer
After being left out of the last two match-day squads, Antonio Rudiger is reportedly a loan target of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, who are hoping to snap up the out-of-favour 27-year-old.
According to the Daily Mail , Paris Saint-Germain have made an approach for the German. The French champions want to loan Rudiger for the season, but include an option to buy clause in the deal.
Barcelona have also been named as a potential landing spot, but Chelsea would prefer to sell on a permanent basis.
Nevertheless, with Rudiger not a part of Lampard’s plans and expected to leave before the 5 October deadline, negotiations continue.
Lampard discusses Rudiger exit
Amid swirling reports of a Rudiger exit, which were only accelerated by the arrivals of Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr, Lampard was asked about the defender’s future at the club, as well as the reports linking Jorginho with a shock move to Arsenal.
“I don’t expect anything in the window, they are our players,” he said, per the Metro . “There are lots of rumours, not just on those players but on a lot of our players.
“Every player will always be a case-by-case situation that has to be a happy solution for the player, myself and for the club.
“We have a big squad, we know that, but at the moment players remain ours and we will see as time goes on.”