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The summer transfer window will slam shut this evening, but Chelsea have shown no sign of slowing down. On Wednesday, football.london reported that the Blues reached an agreement with Manchester City, which is thought to be in the region of £45million, for the transfer of Cole Palmer.
It's believed that Chelsea had an initial £35million bid rejected by the Premier League champions before tabling their second proposal on Wednesday afternoon. After securing the 21-year-old playmaker's signature, the west Londoners quickly turned their attention to their next target – Gabriel Moscardo, who's another teenage sensation earning his stripes in the Brazilian top-flight.
While Chelsea have been eager to welcome new faces to Stamford Bridge, they've been just as determined to trim down the first-team squad with three players shipped out on loan by midday on Thursday. Romelu Lukaku, Tino Anjorin and Zak Sturge have been the latest Blues stars to depart – and several more are expected to follow.
So, with that being said, football.london have taken a look at the best and worst-case scenario for Chelsea on deadline day.
In an deal world...
Ideally, Chelsea manage to finalise the transfers of Palmer from Manchester City and Moscardo from Corinthians. The England Under-21 international is expected to be thrown into the deep end and cover for Christopher Nkunku, while the Brazilian wonderkid would likely be loaned out to either his former club or to Strasbourg – just like Angelo Gabriel.
In terms of incomings, no further additions would improve the Blues' window. With regard to outgoings, Pochettino's priority will be to ensure that he has a 23-man squad – no more, and no less.
So, that would mean offloading Devid Washington, Diego Moreira, Mason Burtsow, Bashir Humphreys and either Lucas Bergstrom or Eddie Beach on loan. If the aforementioned youngsters are not given loan spells then they'll be left to earn their stripes in the Development Squad before the transfer window reopens in January.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: 'Done deal', Palmer medical, Gallagher bid, Colwill injury scare
As for permanent departures, an ideal deadline day would see Chelsea sell Callum Hudson-Odoi, Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah. While the latter has given the Blues no reason to offload him, the arrival of Axel Disasi earlier this month seemingly spelled the end of his career at Stamford Bridge.
If Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja are named in the first-team squad then Pochettino will have a 25-man squad. While Chelsea may want to trim down their roster, the club have numerous players in the treatment room at the moment so their services will surely be needed this term.
A deadline day to forget...
The worst-scenario for Chelsea on deadline day would be if none of the aforementioned deals materialised, leaving Pochettino with a very bloated first-team squad. While the Argentine has not been afraid to cull players from his core group, a failure to find loans for the club's youngsters and permanent moves for those who are surplus to requirements could prove fatal in the short-term and long-term.
It would also be a disaster if moves for Palmer and Moscardo collapsed. Neither of the two are necessarily 'must haves' but, seeing as they're luxury deals, they're arrivals would significantly bolster Chelsea's squad for years to come and relay the feel good feeling around the club.
