Chelsea are through to the last 16 of the Club World Cup and remain in contention to win the tournament, but off the field, BlueCo are making plans to reinforce Enzo Maresca's squad further ahead of his second season in charge.
barcelona Related
Chelsea make approach for £103k-a-week Barcelona legend who Man United want
The Blues face competition from both Manchester clubs.
New signing Liam Delap scored his first goal for the club during their 3-0 win over ES Tunis this morning, with their opponents failing to register a single shot on target as Tosin Adarabioyo and Tyrique George also rounded off a routine victory for the Blues.
Chelsea's best performers in the Premier League last season Average match rating
Cole Palmer 7.33
Moises Caicedo 7.02
Enzo Fernández 6.95
Nicolas Jackson 6.88
Noni Madueke 6.82
via WhoScored
Chelsea will now face Portuguese heavyweights Benfica in the first knockout round, and there is every possibility that Maresca's side can go on to lift the trophy whilst securing a massive £97 million financial windfall for the club.
"The performance, for me, was good," said Maresca after Chelsea's win over ES Tunis.
"It was not easy and until we scored the first goal, it was difficult to break their defensive line down. We were quite patient, and when we scored the first goal, the game became a little more open and a little easier for us.
Enzo-Maresca
"It’s impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days in these conditions means it’s not possible for them to play every game. The ones that played were good, and we’ve given some rest to Moi, Trev, Levi, Cucu, Cole, Pedro, many players. It’s important to recover the energy and try to win the next game."
Chelsea have been plying their trade in near unplayable weather conditions, with the American heat causing major issues for Maresca's side and other teams competing at the CWC.
To help lighten the load, Chelsea could take advantage of a unique player registration period. From June 27 to July 3, Chelsea are allowed to add players to their CWV roster, including new signings, on the condition they haven't already featured for another team at the tournament.
chelsea-premier-league
This would rule out Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, who is reliably believed to be closing in on a move to Chelsea, but Sporting CP's Ousmane Diomande could link up with the squad if they advance on a deal for the Ivorian.
Chelsea looking to negotiate cut-price Ousmane Diomande move
TEAMtalk reported in the last few days that Maresca is a "huge fan" of Diomande and has him near the top of Chelsea's target list for defenders.
ousmane-diomande-sporting-primeira-liga
The 21-year-old's contract includes a £68 million release clause too, but according to an update from CaughtOffside, the west Londoners don't fancy paying this fee.
Indeed, it is believed that Chelsea are "looking to negotiate" a lower fee with Sporting to sign Diomande, and they reiterate how convinced Maresca is by the African defender's quality.
They're said to be "very" keen on signing the Primeira Liga starlet, and Sporting are open to considering a bid slightly beneath his clause. However, amid interest from Newcastle United and Real Madrid, Maresca faces stiff competition for one of his top targets.