Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has a plethora of star players in his squad, and some have been reduced to fewer minutes than they'd like.
BlueCo are spearheading another major reshuffle of the squad, and perhaps even more so this summer, with the expectation being that Chelsea are poised to offload many more squad members as new players fill their spaces.
Carney Chukwuemeka, Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist could all still leave Stamford Bridge before the summer transfer deadline on September 1, as UEFA pressure Chelsea to produce a positive transfer balance by next month.
Chelsea-Nicolas-Jackson
The aforementioned seven could follow a host of players out the door, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Mathis Amougou, Djordje Petrovic, João Félix, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu parting company permanently.
For most of a portion of this window, defender Benoit Badiashile has also been linked with exit door, but the Frenchman's future has proved more complicated.
While Badiashile isn't exactly at the forefront of Maresca's plans, starting just three Premier League games last season, he did play in all but two games of their Conference League campaign.
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The 24-year-old was a firm regular of their 'B team' last term, so to speak, but remains behind the likes of Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill in the pecking order.
Unfortunately for Maresca, Colwill is now set to miss most of the new campaign after damaging his ACL in training, with Chelsea thought to be exploring new centre-back options in the transfer market as a result.
Chelsea could even sign a new defender on an emergency loan, according to some reports, but any deal for the right player will be hard to do considering how late it is in the window.
Chelsea Colwill
They also remain in ongoing talks to sign both Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho respectively, and bringing in the attacking duo would take Chelsea's summer spending to well past the £300 million mark.
Maresca could well be forced to consider more internal solutions to their centre-back shortage, with Badiashile now receiving plenty of support at Cobham.
Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile praised by staff behind-the-scenes
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the London is Blue podcast this week, the former AS Monaco man is earning real admiration from members of the Chelsea staff.
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Those within the club are convinced that Badiashile can develop into a consistent and reliable player for Chelsea, with Maresca told to take note of the ex-Ligue 1 star as a potential option - even if he's currently injured himself right now.
Badiashile is expected back around September, though, so he could soon come in as cover for Colwill if Maresca opts to head in that direction.
“I think it’s a September return for Benoit Badiashile.
"We’re not looking at too far off, nor was the injury so bad that they’ve had too many concerns. Badiashile, starting to have, I think, a lot of support within Chelsea that his development is not just on track, but he’s ready to play in Premier League games and be consistent.”
In another interview on Playback, Jacobs also revealed that Badiashile has a fierce work ethic, with there being a growing sense that his signing has "slipped under the radar".