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Chelsea have been linked with a number of centre-backs to help alleviate concerns over their depth at the back in the summer. Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta are all set to leave at the end of the season if they don’t sign new contracts at the club.

However, due to the Blues ’ sporting licence in wake of Roman Abramovich’s sanctions from the UK Government, the club aren’t in a position to offer new deals to players. This also means they can’t transfer players either, making the future of the squad uncertain.

This could leave Thomas Tuchel with Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr as his only current senior options at centre-back. Though, that isn’t to say that Chelsea don’t already have one or two potential players for the role.

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The academy at Cobham has already provided a number of first-team players to the side, such as Mason Mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chalobah. There are also a number of other emerging