Chelsea's eventful summer window so far has produced plenty of different stories emerging from behind-the-scenes, with Enzo Maresca still looking to bolster his squad further and preferably in time for the Club World Cup later this month.
BlueCo have just two more days to register new players before the competition begins, and with £97 million worth of prize money on the line, it is little surprise that Stamford Bridge chiefs want to take it seriously.
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The Blues have held discussions.
Striker Liam Delap has already been signed from Ipswich for around £30 million, the value of his release clause, and he's set to snub a spot in Lee Carsley's England Under-21 squad for the Euros so he can feature at the CWC for Chelsea.
“I am definitely not disappointed,” said Carsley on Delap not leading the line for England.
“I am delighted for Liam and his family. I think it is a brilliant thing for an English centre-forward to play in the Premier League at such a prestigious club like Chelsea. Hopefully he will do really well there and push for the senior team. We will move on, we moved on quite quickly.
England's Liam Delap in action with Portugal's Francisco Chissumba
“I think we have always known that two or three of the players could move to clubs that were playing in the Club World Cup and we have been preparing for this for a while."
In terms of who could join Delap in time for the CWC, Chelsea have a number of different plates spinning.
Liam Delap's best Premier League games for Ipswich last season Match Rating
Ipswich Town 2-0 Chelsea 8.08
Bournemouth 1-2 Ipswich Town 8.05
Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa 8.04
Ipswich Town 1-2 Southampton 7.83
Fulham 2-2 Ipswich Town 7.55
via WhoScored
Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitiké continues to among Chelsea's top priorities, while new talks have been held over a move for Ajax defender Jorrel Hato this week (Simon Phillips). Chelsea also have a number of rumoured top targets for the wing, including Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens.
AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan, who's about to enter the final 12 months of his contract, remains high on the agenda as well.
AC Milan's Mike Maignan reacts
Chelsea opened talks with Milan over signing Maignan, and the France international is believed to be equally keen on a move to Stamford Bridge. However, as Milan demand around £25 million to sell their captain, with Chelsea only wanting to pay £10 million (Sky Sports), they are looking to find common ground on his price tag.
Chelsea could force Robert Sanchez out if they sign Mike Maignan
According to journalist Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, if they do seal a deal for the 29-year-old, it could spell trouble for Robert Sanchez in particular.
robert-sanchez-premier-league-chelsea
The mainstay keeper started 32 Premier League matches under Maresca last term, but it is believed Maignan's potential arrival could push Sanchez out of the Chelsea exit door, alongside fellow shot-stopper Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea's extensive backlog of keepers, which still includes £150,000-per-week outcast Kepa Arrizabalaga, needs to be trimmed.
Maignan is a truly "elite" keeper, as described by Liverpool star Alisson, so he's definitely worth having for a cut-price fee, but it is a given that Chelsea will have to find new homes for half of the shot-stoppers in their squad as well.