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The west London club have already overseen a mass exodus of players, netting around £200million in the process, but Mauricio Pochettino wants to trim his bloated squad even further.
Chelsea are currently locked in talks with Inter over a fee for Romelu Lukaku, with the Serie A side’s opening offer of £23million rejected.
Lukaku had originally been scheduled to return to Cobham for pre-season training this week, but he was told he could now wait until next Monday as negotiations continue.
Chelsea are hopeful a breakthrough with Inter will be found by then, meaning Lukaku does not need to return to London at all.
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea’s other surplus-to-requirements striker Aubameyang is also being given the same treatment.
The former Arsenal star, who was signed by axed boss Thomas Tuchel a year ago, is not part of Pochettino’s plans and has been told he is not required back before next Monday as well.
A deal for Aubameyang to leave is less advanced, but the west Londoners are hoping to sell the Gabon international to Saudi Arabia.
Hakim Ziyech is also being targeted by the Saudi league but his move to Al-Nassr fell through after they drastically reduced their salary proposal after identifying a knee problem in his medical.
Chelsea still hope that deal can be revived, though it is unclear at this stage whether or not Ziyech – like Lukaku and Aubameyang – has been told to stay away from training.
Should none of the transfers be completed before next Monday’s rescheduled return date, there are suggestions the players could be asked to train away from Pochettino’s main first-team group.
The squad are due to fly out to the United States for their pre-season tour on Monday, and those fringe players on the verge of moves away could be instructed to remain at Cobham until the transfers have gone through.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is already believed to be training away from the main group of Chelsea players, having decided that he wants to leave the club permanently.
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