“I’d expect…” – Ornstein names two positions Chelsea are certain to strengthen this summer | OneFootball

This epically long international break is still in full swing – there’s still 6 days until Chelsea play their next game.

To help fans through this club football content drought, the Athletic have wheeled out their top man David Ornstein for a Q and A. He touched on all manner of topics, and had some interesting Chelsea information for the Blues fans who read through the piece.

Asked about the Club World Cup and Chelsea’s plans for it, the insider confirmed that the Blues’ early business this spring was all to do with that tournament in June.

“[Chelsea] have been working really hard behind the scenes to secure deals ahead of the market opening,” Ornstein wrote.

He pointed to the confirmed deals to sign Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo and Geovany Quenda, all agreed since January to take place early in the summer so they can be used at the CWC.

But that won’t be all – he noted other positions that club wanted to strengthen: “I’d expect a starting winger to arrive in light of the Mykhailo Mudryk uncertainty,” Ornstein said.

“The No. 9 position remains high on the agenda, too… we’ve seen options such as Liam Delap and Benjamin Sesko, [but] it isn’t clear yet who they’ll go for.

Chelsea’s 2 priorities clear – the rest would be a bonus

Sky Sports discuss Chelsea’s squad depth midway through this season.

It seems pretty clear cut, as Ornstein says here, that a left winger and a striker as the top priorities. Talk of a more experienced central defender and goalkeeper make sense, but may be wishful thinking from fans.

Either way, given the number of sales there are likely to be, it’s going to be a busy summer either way.

It’s interesting to be reminded of Sarr’s name too. How ready is he to actually compete for starts?