Chelsea are moving quickly to clear up their squad ahead of the new season having continuously added young players to Mauricio Pochettino’s armoury this summer.

Mauricio Pochettino has made a transfer decision that could help Chelsea save millions

The 29-man group that travelled to America for pre-season was full of youngsters yet to make their debut for the senior side and left room for experimentation. However, Pochettino wasn’t keen to put on that this was the final look of his squad for the 2023/24 season heading into the league opener against Liverpool on Sunday.

Cobham duo Bashir Humphreys and Lewis Hall are both in talks for a loan away while Angelo Gabriel could be the first to be sent out to new BlueCo owned club, RC Strasbourg. Santos forward Deivid Washington could join him if a deal is agreed to sign him permanently too.

One player that isn’t going to be moving away is Ian Maatsen. Having come into the squad as an outsider that was expected to leave with both Burnley and Sheffield United keen on signing him permanently, the 21-year-old has secured his place in the first team and is set to be rewarded.

Having started out of position in right-wing, Maatsen scored twice against Wrexham before continuing to impress in matches with Brighton, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund. From a potential source of funds to a key player, he has now been offered a new deal verbally by the club.

Maatsen is reportedly in talks to extend his stay at SW6 beyond the end of his contract next year. Following conversations with Pochettino and no bidder willing to go up to the initial £25million ($31m), he is now ready to play a big role in the team moving forward.

Ian Maatsen celebrates after scoring Chelsea’s second goal in a 5-0 defeat of Wrexham (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

football.london says: Pochettino has got the summer spot on so far. With Maatsen yet to make his Premier League debut and clubs snapping around for him, it would be easy to have sanctioned a sale and pocketed the money. Instead, he has offered the player a chance to shine and both Maatsen and Pochettino will benefit.

Here is a player that is able to feature at left-back, wing-back, midfield and attack with ease. He is homegrown for Chelsea and has seamlessly taken the step-up every time it’s been asked of him.

With Maatsen and Levi Colwill tied down to new deals, Pochettino has been braver than previous managers that would opt for experience instead. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough and Pochettino has two gems on his hands. They’re certainly good enough and Chelsea will be keen to see them develop under their own watch.

From two academy stars to another. Reece James has reportedly still of interest to Real Madrid despite signing a new long-term deal last summer. He put pen to paper on a six-year extension just over 12 months ago in a bid to commit himself to his boyhood club as well as warning off interested sides.

Real didn’t get the memo. Reports in Spain suggest that they are plotting an offer for the 23-year-old in an attempt to sign him not this year, but in 2024. Los Blancos had been linked with a move for the right-back before but there is no suggestion that anything would be possible, especially not now that he is in contention to be the Chelsea club captain.

With Dani Carvajal still the first choice at Madrid, it is said that they will ‘break the bank’ in order to sign James as a replacement. It also suggests that James would be open to a move, though there is little evidence to support such a claim.

Reece James has been linked with a move away from Chelsea (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

football.london says: A moment of silence for Real fans that think this is possible.

Now that’s out of the way, a moment of laughter to go with it.

Great. This is not a possibility. James is not for sale and nor will he be for the forseeable future. He is Chelsea’s present and future. He is, on the whole, their everything.

He is a player that sums up what it means to play for the club, especially at a time of mass change, and there isn’t a fund of money in the world that can be considered enough to make Chelsea even consider picking up the phone to discuss. He is their most valuable player and even the great Real Madrid have little to offer him right now.

There isn’t really loads to say about it. This is not a deal that will happen, not now and not ever.