Chelsea “rule out” two positions they won’t sign in which will send frustrated fans mad

The Athletic’s DealSheet is out and it has updates on all of the main Chelsea transfer stories of the day.

What’s perhaps more interesting than its take on the specific cases is what Simon Johnson has written about their overall strategy. He says that he can “take two specific positions off the table” when it comes to considering Chelsea’s transfer plans.

Despite Robert Sanchez’s recent struggles, “Chelsea believe they have already added two young keepers from can provide strong competition” in the form of Mike Penders and Filip Jorgensen.

That’s brutal news for anyone hoping we’ll upgrade soon – Penders is only just breaking into the Genk senior team now, it could be a few years before he’s ready for Chelsea. Are we really going to suffer with Sanchez until then?

Another position supposedly sorted is centre back: Chelsea “are not thinking about a defender as things stand” now they’ve lined up a deal for Mamadou Sarr in the summer.

Chelsea sporting directors go the other way to their fans on transfer needs

It’s a funny situation – most Blues fans would say goalkeeper and centre back are where this team is really lacking an elite player to take them to the next level. Meanwhile at wing at attacking midfield we’re pretty covered.

But our sporting directors think the opposite – they want a new left winger, with Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho mentioned, as well as Nico Williams and Mathys Tel.

None of these deals sound particularly advanced anyway – is it possible we make it through this window without a single addition? It’s looking increasingly likely. Central midfield is an area where we’re really short while Romeo Lavia is out, but we’ve yet to hear a single convincing rumour on that front.