Chelsea's need to sell has been well documented this summer. Their firesale of players to teams across the world for deals ranging between end of contract free agents to £65million ($82.5m) moves to rivals, has been staggering.
Cutting the squad of 32 players from the end of last season down to a manageable size for Mauricio Pochettino was never going to be an easy or smooth task, especially not with the need for extra recruits in goal, central midfield and striker positions. Add in the swathe of talented returning loanees and the mountain of exits only increases in size.
For Pochettino to land on a core group of 25 players for his Premier League squad next season some serious work is still required in sculpting the side. Having now sold, agreed to move on or let go five of their midfielders from the 2022/23 season, Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez are the only remaining players at the club.
It is a hole for Pochettino to patch up. Even with the promise provided by Andrey Santos, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei, the trio of teenagers do not provide a stable platform to build from, even if there are roles to be grasped.
Each of those will now likely play a key part in the pre-season tour of America as Pochettino sets about offering chances to the young stars that have been signed over the past 12 months by Todd Boehly. How they fit into the puzzle of a squad come mid-August, though, is yet to be defined.
Moises Caicedo is expected to be seriously pursued in the coming weeks, especially after the sales of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount go through with an extra £115million ($146.1m) generated from those deals. The Brighton man is seen as the answer to the gap in defensive midfield and is now open to moving to Chelsea after Premier League rivals all went for seperate options instead.
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The 21-year-old is seen as the physical, energetic and driving answer to anchor Pochettino's side at the base of midfield as well as working with Enzo Fernandez to push the team forward in the coming years. The Argentine midfielder started every game after signing in January and completed 1,547 of a possible 1,620 minutes of domestic football in that time.
Even as a new addition to the team and the league, he picked up the pace of English football quickly and asserted himself as an undroppable part of the squad even in a role not suited to his abilities perfectly. Fernandez relies more on dictating play higher up the field than in front of the defence, in areas where he can be a creative presence as well as tempo-runner.
Without a player of Caicedo's skillset, Fernandez has been left to fill the void in front of the defence as well as offering chances with the ball. His role under Pochettino may well change massively next season with the arrival of Caicedo, should it go through.
In research done by Chelsea Twitter account @ExpectedChelsea, it is found that the former Tottenham manager often used a rotation of three central midfielders competing for spots in a midfield pivot across his time in north London.
At very most he turned to having one more player than spots in the side, basing this on the primary use of a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3 formation with a midfield duo required. Given this, even if Chelsea were to play in a 4-3-3 shape, something Pochettino does not turn too that often, they would rely on four players to play most of the minutes, especially in a side without European football.
Given that Chelsea currently have two players in the position, Caicedo would fill the third slot of a 4-3-3 and the additional space in a 3-4-3. Add in the numerous youth players competing for a role and Chelsea may well be well stocked for Pochettino's needs already. Fernandez is a player that has immense durability and Caicedo's injury record is sparse.
Given that his Spurs core midfield group played an average of 80.85% of the minutes played, there is only a small amount left over for what could be a young trio of players all competing for consistent gametime. As Santos and Chukwuemeka especially look to earn a place in the squad and aid their development, any more incomings in the centre of the park may well reduce their gametime.
Even though it would mean a group of five players - based on Casadei heading for another loan spell - with an average age of just 20.6, the foundation of the midfield is already all but there at Cobham already and this would allow Pochettino to prioritise more attention towards the goalkeeper and striker roles instead.
