After a quiet few months at the start of the transfer window, it is now all systems go at Chelsea.
Despite winning the 2020/21 Champions League, manager Thomas Tuchel is keen to strengthen his squad so that they can be more competitive in the league next season.
To date, they have only signed Marcus Bettinelli from Fulham on a free transfer, but that will certainly not be their only piece of business in this transfer window.
But they need to speed up their negotiations if they want their new signings to be available and ready for the first game of the season against Crystal Palace next Saturday.
Here, Mirror Football rounds up the latest transfer news from Stamford Bridge.
Abraham Atalanta-bound
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Wantaway striker Tammy Abraham is set to be granted his move away from Stamford Bridge in a domino-effect move that will force through Chelsea’s signing of Romelu Lukaku.
Since the appointment of Tuchel in January, Abraham has struggled for minutes and was notably left out of matchday squads in some of the Blues’ most important games last season.
The English forward made just 22 league appearances, 10 from the bench, but still finished the campaign as the second-highest goalscorer on six goals, one behind top scorer Jorginho (7).
According to Sky Sports Italia journalist Fabrizo Romano, Abraham is set to be granted a move to Serie A side Atalanta which should allow Chelsea to fulfil their wishes of re-signing Lukaku.
The deal will mean that Inter Milan can sign striker Duvan Zapata from Atalanta, as he will be replaced by Abraham, and therefore allow Lukaku to return to the Premier League.
Atalanta are set to pay €40m for the 23-year-old, which will fund a considerable amount of Tuchel’s future signings.
Juve offered cash and player for de Ligt
Chelsea are keen to bolster their defensive ranks with serious talent and have set their sights on 21-year-old centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.
The Dutch international signed for Juventus from Ajax in a €75m in 2019 and has gradually become one of the first names on the team sheet in Turin.
However, he failed to impress at Euro 2020 and his red card for a clumsy handball against Czech Republic is labelled as the reason why the Oranjes were knocked out in the Round of 16.
But Tuchel hasn’t been put off by that mistake instead, he is willing to offer Juve €60m plus the services of striker Timo Werner in order to secure de Ligt’s signature, according to Italian news outlet Calciomercatoweb .
Werner has disappointed since signing for the Blues last year, scoring just six in 35 appearances and missing numerous simple chances.
With the signing of Lukaku of interest, chances may be scarce for the German striker in the upcoming campaign which may explain why they are looking to cash in on him sooner rather than later.
Zouma declines West Ham move
For-sale defender, Kurt Zouma has turned down a move to West Ham next season despite the fellow London club being able to offer him regular first-team football in the Premier League and the Europa League.
The Irons are very keen to bring in another central defender, or two, to the London Stadium as they look to add depth and experience to their thin squad.
They identified Zouma as a target last month but their pursuit of the Frenchman has come to the end as talks with the defender broke down after a disagreement over wages, according to The Sun.
The 26-year-old was going to bank Chelsea £20m, however, West Ham are no longer interested and will instead go after Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic of Fiorentina.
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