When Chelsea announced their Premier League squad on Thursday, eyes were peeled, scanning the list to see which players had been shunned of a spot in Thomas Tuchel's unit.
But there were no huge omissions. Even Ross Barkley, Lewis Baker and Malang Sarr were given squad numbers, despite each player spending the entirety of last term out on loan.
One point of cheer for many Chelsea supporters was the continued presence of midfielder and youth graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek among his manager's midfield options.
Now 25, there had been concerns that Loftus-Cheek may have played his last game for the Blues, particularly when Jose Mourinho was rumoured to be attempting to take him to Roma. Couple that with the arrival of Saul Niguez on deadline day, and a Chelsea future seemed unlikely.
While his presence on the squad list may have given his biggest fans cause for optimism, Tuchel seemed to snuff that out sharply during his press conference ahead of Chelsea's clash with Aston Villa.
As he lavished praise on new signing Saul Niguez, Tuchel referred to the "only" other three midfield options at his disposal. Loftus-Cheek was not mentioned.
"I was nervous to go into the season with three midfielders," Tuchel told the press on Friday.
"Saul was on Chelsea's radar for many, many years. He has been on my radar for many, many years. I tried to sign him for other clubs.
"Now with the Covid situation and the Euro and Copa America, I personally was a bit concerned to go into the season with only Jorginho, N'Golo [Kante] and Mateo [Kovacic]."
While it may appear harsh to many onlookers, Tuchel looks to have completed his scouting mission spanning a number of years for the Atletico Madrid star. After spending the entirety of last season on loan with Fulham, Loftus-Cheek had his chance to impress the manager of his parent club.
It seems he has not managed that.
Tuchel's midfield unit is complete. Jorginho, Kante, Niguez and Kovacic will rotate between each other throughout the club competitions.
Along with Barkley and Baker, Loftus-Cheek is now left waiting for a huge stroke of luck to come his way.
