Chelsea’s latest business could see a host of other faces leave the club before transfer deadline

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The arrivals of Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizabalaga at Stamford Bridge could prompt the club to offload several big names tomorrow to balance the books.

New Blues boss Maurizio Sarri had been relatively quiet in the transfer market since his arrival in London this summer, initially only bringing in Jorginho from Napoli and Robert Green from Huddersfield.

But it seems a combination of watching his side succumb to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Community Shield and the imminent departure of Thibaut Courtois have forced his hand in the last two days, as Kepa and Kovacic edge ever closer to completing their respective moves to Chelsea.

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According to The Telegraph, the Spanish ‘keeper Kepa has already been put through a medical with the club today and Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Kovacic is close to agreeing on terms ahead of a loan move from the Bernabeu.

If indeed both deals go through as expected, there will be a pressing need for Chelsea to balance out their spending by offloading certain members of the current squad, with The Telegraph suggesting that Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayoko will be the most likely to depart.

The Guardian reports that the Blues have already met the 23-year-old Spaniard’s release clause with Athletic Bilbao, which was set at £71 million and have in the process beaten the previous world record fee for a goalkeeper set by Liverpool’s signing of Alisson earlier in the transfer window.

The Telegraph also states that Courtois’ sale to Madrid will only earn the club £35 million, which means that outgoings as a result of their latest business this summer are inevitable.

West Ham, Crystal Palace and AC Milan are all reportedly interested in Drinkwater and Bakayoko respectively, plus Kurt Zouma’s current situation is being monitored by Everton, The Telegraph adds.

Chelsea have until 5 pm tomorrow to sort out all these potential deals, with their latest Premier League season kicking off in just 3 days against Huddersfield at the John Smith’s stadium.

More Stories Danny Drinkwater Jorginho Kepa Arrizabalaga Kurt Zouma Maurizio Sarri robert green Thibaut Courtois Tiemoue Bakayoko