After their worst season in nearly 30 years, Chelsea have never had a more critical summer in terms of transfer business.
Departures are likely to prove as crucial as new signings and there has been plenty of movement in both directions, with expectation that the bulk of the activity is still to come.
The PA news agency looks at what has been done and what to expect ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s first season in charge.
How urgent is it all?Very. Chelsea have a bloated first-team squad following owner Todd Boehly’s scattergun first 12 months at the helm, with more than £600million spent on transfers.
Successive managers in Graham Potter and Frank Lampard admitted to finding the job of accommodating so many players an almost unworkable challenge, and since January there has been little consistency in team selection or shape, with cohesion amongst the squad lacking.
There is also the matter of satisfying Financial Fair Play rules. With sky-high outgoings and no income from European football, something has to be done to balance the books, ideally before the June 30 deadline for keeping everything on last season’s accounts.
Who’s on the way in?Christopher Nkunku has joined from RB Leipzig for £53m after a pre-contract agreement was reached in January for the France international.
With the team having recorded their lowest goal tally in almost a century last campaign, more attacking arrivals are necessary, and a deal for Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson has reportedly been struck.
Moise Caicedo of Brighton is a long-term target but no bid has been made since the Seagulls rebuffed Chelsea’s repeated overtures in January.
Who has already left?So far the departures have been predictable ones, with N’Golo Kante leaving for Al-Ittihad and Kalidou Koulibaly joining Al-Hilal, both in the Saudi Arabia Professional League.
Kante had looked close to agreeing a new contract at Stamford Bridge last season but talks had long since broken down by the time he accepted a reported £86m-a-year offer to become the latest star name to swap a major European club for the Gulf.
Defender Koulibaly was in and out of the team during his one season in blue, and with manager Pochettino well stocked in central defence he has left the club less than 12 months after joining from Napoli.
Who will be next?Deals have been agreed for forward Hakim Ziyech and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to join their former team-mates in Saudi Arabia for £8m and £16m respectively.
Ziyech has been eager to depart since a deadline-day move to Paris St Germain fell through in January, after Chelsea failed to submit the correct paperwork in time.
Despite a strong first two seasons in west London, Mendy has lost his place as first-choice keeper to Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kai Havertz is on the verge of joining Arsenal in a reported £65m deal, with an announcement expected this week, while Mateo Kovacic will join Manchester City after the clubs agreed a £30m fee for the Croatia international.
Who else is surplus to requirements?Striker Romelu Lukaku is eager to rerun to Inter where he spent last season on loan, though Chelsea have reportedly been unwilling to agree to another temporary move as they seek a permanent transfer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another outcast to have been linked with the Saudi Pro League and is unlikely to have a future at Stamford Bridge, though it is thought he remains unconvinced about a move to the Gulf.
What about Mason Mount?As it stands, Manchester United have had three bids for the England midfielder rejected and are at the point of walking away from the deal to focus on other targets.
The 24-year-old rejected new terms last season but there is no offer on the table from the Blues, with his contract about to enter its final 12 months.
United reportedly believe an asking price of £65m is too high for a player who will be available on a free this time next year and can begin negotiating a pre-contract agreement with another club in January.
That leaves the player with three options: see out the final year of his deal, hold out to see if another bidder emerges, or ask Chelsea back to the negotiating table.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Haaland has 'full trust' in Guardiola to halt Man City slump
Erling Haaland has "full trust" in the "best manager in the world", Pep Guardiola, to get Manchester City back on track against Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Guardiola's side have lost four matches in a row across all competitions, which is the Spaniard's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
But after putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract extension at the club earlier this week, Guardiola has his eyes firmly set on returning to winning ways on home soil.
And Haaland, who has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances under Guardiola at City, believes they can make up the gap to leaders Liverpool, who are five points ahead.
"When you look at what he's been doing for the club, he's not bad, is he? So he's got my full trust," Haaland told Sky Sports.
"And if he tells me something, I'd better do it because he knows the best in the end. Everyone knows that. So I'm sure he will find solutions now as well. I'm sure of that.
"[Guardiola] demands us to be at our best in every training session, in every game. And that's what we need to do. It hasn't been good enough, losing four games now, but let's try to win the next."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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