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Nathan Bliss

Paulo Dybala and Gabriel Jesus sign - Chelsea's 2021/22 squad predicted after summer transfers

Chelsea's 2020/21 season is far from over, with the Blues due to play in the FA Cup final on Saturday followed by the Champions League final later this month.

But that hasn't stopped speculation about the club's plans during the upcoming transfer window, with various big-name players linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, and some players linked with moves away.

High-profile forwards Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku are the club's top targets, with players like Emerson, Marcos Alonso and Tammy Abraham linked with moves to other clubs.

Chelsea's 2-1 win against Premier League champions Manchester City, followed by Manchester United's defeat to Leicester City, means that the Blues have all but secured their place in the top four, which should help to attract talent to the club this summer.

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So, which players could Chelsea sign this summer?

And, how can we expect Chelsea's starting XI to look when the 2021 transfer window closes?

We used popular football management simulation game Football Manager 2021 to have a bit of fun, and find out how Chelsea's squad could look after the 2021/22 summer transfer window.

Chelsea's 2021/22 squad predicted after 2021 transfer window

To find out what Chelsea's squad could look like at the beginning of the 2021/22 season, we used the popular football management simulation game Football Manager to try and predict the future.

We simulated the entire 2020/21 season on the game, and then simulated further into September 2021, to see how Chelsea's squad looked after the 2021 summer transfer window.

Here's what happened!

Transfers in: £184 million

Chelsea signed Juventus forward Paulo Dybala in this FM21 simulation (Chris Ricco/Getty Images)

Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - £72 million

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) - £68 million

Ismael Bennacer (Milan) - £42 million

Chelsea transfers in - according to FM21 (Football Manager 2021)

Chelsea spent almost £200 million in the summer of 2021, bringing in three players in total, with the quality of the players prioritised over the quantity of new arrivals.

The Blues' most expensive signing was Argentine forward Paulo Dybala from Juventus, who cost £72 million.

Man City forward Gabriel Jesus was also brought in for big money, £68 million to be exact, with the Brazilian pushing for a move away after finding himself down the pecking order at City following their purchase of Lautaro Martinez from Inter.

Former Arsenal midfielder Ismael Bennacer was also signed from Milan for £42 million, with the Algerian making an already strong midfield even better.

Let's move on to the outgoings.

Transfers out: £91 million

Antonio Rudiger left Chelsea for Inter in this FM21 simulation (Martin Rickett - Pool/Getty Images)

Ross Barkley (Sevilla) - £22.5 million (rising to £29 million with add ons)

Antonio Rudiger (Inter) - £19.75 million

Andreas Christensen (Inter) - £14 million

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Fiorentina) - £13.25 million

Emerson (Leeds United) - £8.75 million

Victor Moses (Dynamo Kyiv) - £5.25 million (rising to £6.5 million)

Kenedy (Borussia M'Gladbach) - £2.8 million (rising to £3.9 million)

Olivier Giroud (OGC Nice) - £1.4 million (rising to £2 million)

Marco van Ginkel (Free)

Baba Rahman (Southampton) - Loan

Danny Drinkwater (Preston) - Loan

Tammy Abraham (Leicester City) - Loan

Michy Batshuayi (Lille) - Loan

Davide Zappacosta (Milan) - Loan

Chelsea transfers out - according to FM21 (Football Manager 2021)

Chelsea recouped almost half of their transfer spend by selling a few of the club's fringe players, with the Blues raking in £91 million in sales.

Ross Barkley was sold to Sevilla for a fee of £22.5 million, and after failing to agree new deals, both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen joined Inter for fees of £19 million and £14.75 million respectively.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Emerson, Victor Moses, Kenedy, Olivier Giroud and Marco van Ginkel were all sold, with players like Baba Rahman, Danny Drinkwater, Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and Davide Zappacosta sealing loan moves away.

So, with all these transfers completed, what could the first Chelsea lineup of the 2021/22 season look like?

The first Chelsea XI at the beginning of the 2021/22 season predicted

With the 2021 transfer window over, this is how Chelsea's first XI looked, with two of their new signings going straight into the side.

Chelsea's opening line-up in the first game of the 2021/22 season was as follows: Mendy; James, Sarr, Zouma, Chilwell; Havertz, Kante, Mount; Gabriel Jesus, Dybala, Pulisic.

Chelsea's opening line-up in the first game of the 2021/22 season according to FM21 (Football Manager 2021)

Gabriel Jesus started the season as the right-sided attacker, with Paulo Dybala starting as the central striker and Christian Pulisic on the left.

Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and N'Golo Kante were the midfield three, with a back four of Ben Chilwell, Kurt Zouma, Malang Sarr and Reece James.

New signing Bennacer featured on the bench alongside Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and others.

Defensively, youngsters like Ethan Ampadu, Marc Guehi, Trevor Chalobah and Dujon Sterling were all in and around Tuchel's first-team squad, having sold a number of experienced defenders in the summer.

Would you be happy with these Chelsea transfers this summer?

*Football Manager (FM) is the world’s leading football management simulation title. The latest edition of the game, FM21, is out now on PC, Mac, Mobile, Touch and Xbox.

The Football Manager database currently contains data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs, with data sourced from their international on the ground scouting network which numbers roughly 1,000 people, among their ranks are some who are involved in football in professional capacities, including scouts and coaches.*

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