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.
Frank praises Brentford's pressing, sees no tactical revamp with Toney departure
Thomas Frank heaped praise on Brentford's pressing following their 3-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo scored twice from Brentford's forwards forcing the Southampton backline into errors as the Bees earned their second Premier League win of the season.
This did not go unnoticed by Frank, who believes his side rank as one of the best in the league when it comes to that specific aspect.
He told BBC Sport: "They made errors because we pressed them unbelievably well. I think we are one of the best teams to do the high pressure in the Premier League.
"The players are so committed and that is the reason why we capitalised on errors from Southampton.”
Despite the departure of Ivan Toney to Al-Ahli, Frank does not think their style of play will have to be restructured too much, with both Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa enjoying productive starts to the season in his absence.
Frank said: “Ivan is a fantastic player, I'd love to have him in the team but he has his own journey and is going elsewhere.
"Our style of play hasn't changed. Wissa and Ivan are different players but the style doesn't change.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin was frustrated with his side’s mistakes at crucial moments, believing their performance was far better than the scoreline suggested.
He said to the BBC: “We made two mistakes that we were punished for, which is frustrating and disappointing.
"I saw lots of good things to feel positive about. I feel a lot better this week than I did after the Nottingham Forest game.”
Guardiola has 'no words' for hat-trick hero Haaland
Pep Guardiola was lost for words to describe Erling Haaland after his eighth Premier League hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Having scored a treble to help City claim a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on matchday two, Haaland did likewise on Saturday to keep them perfect as they edged out the Hammers at the London Stadium.
Haaland's seven goals this season are the most any player has ever netted in the first three matches of a Premier League campaign, while only Sergio Aguero (12), Alan Shearer (11) and Robbie Fowler (nine) have ever helped themselves to more match balls in the competition.
Across English football's top four tiers, he is also the first player to score two hat-tricks in a team's first three games of a league season since Bradford City's Paul Jewell in 1994-95.
The Norwegian has now scored more than once in 26% of his Premier League matches (18/69, eight hat-tricks, 10 braces), leaving Guardiola in disbelief.
"There are no words for him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.
"All we can do is make him play better and better and give him as many balls as possible into the box. It's what we have to do. We are there and we added quality.
"This is a team. When you have to run backward, no one asks who has to do it. Everyone has to. When we see Erling doing that, it is fantastic."
Haaland himself, meanwhile, believes having an extended pre-season due to Norway missing out on Euro 2024 has helped him start the season in peak condition.
"I feel good. I feel energised. I had a long vacation and a long pre-season. I'm feeling good," Haaland told City's website.
"The years here have gone quick and it's been going like, 'bam bam bam', now I have a little bit of rest in my body and my feet. I feel really good now and I'm ready for more.
"I feel more refreshed and more energised. So when you do that you can practice on things you want to become better at in training. I feel good. I want to become better. I'm happy."
City sit top of the early-season table with nine points from nine available and saw last season's runners-up Arsenal slip up on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Haaland, though, feels it is too early to think about the title race, adding: "They [City's rivals] haven't slipped up yet. Three games, nine points. This is a great start.
"But let's not think too far ahead, because there’s potentially 70 games left this season. Let's breathe a bit and take it game by game."
Lopetegui rues missed opportunity as West Ham lose to Man City
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was not encouraged by the performance of his team despite losing 3-1 at home to Manchester City in their third league game.
“It is true that City is one of the best teams around the world for sure… but it is also true too that in the second half we have been very close to a draw,” he said speaking to BBC Match of the Day.
“I think we have played one very good second half. The start has been very good for us too.”
West Ham threatened for extended periods of the match and had chances to level the match at 2-1 down, with the best coming from Mohammed Kudus as he smashed a shot against the bar in the second half.
They also started the game brightly before going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
“In my mind we started very well, being aggressive,” said Lopetegui.
“We know in this plan normally they have initiative, it’s very difficult to not concede initiative then. That’s why you have to do a lot of very good things to overcome them.
“In the second half we had chances, I think we kept the ball much more, much more, and didn't concede a lot of chances."
But the hosts were ultimately undone by the brilliant finishing of Erling Haaland, who scored his second hat-trick in as many matches.
“He is one of the best players in the world, that's why he plays for Manchester City,” he said.
“You have to compete with these kind of players. City has the power and the quality to create chances.”
But ultimately, he was left frustrated at the sense of a missed opportunity and that his team were unable to earn themselves a draw that hadn’t seemed implausible during the match.
“Today I think the first goal was a pity for us but I’ve said it. I was happy with the performance think we were able to draw but again they damage us,” he said.
“Against this kind of team, if you make a mistake they don’t forgive. This is the difference they have… A little mistake they punish you, they punish us.
“We have to improve, to know to compete against this kind of team to be close to perfection.
“Don't make mistakes, be calm, defend well… we have quality players too.”
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