Chelsea were in a similar position this summer – albeit later in the window – when it became clear that Antonio Rudiger wasn’t in Frank Lampard’s immediate plans.

Reports suggested the Germany international was looking for a way out of Stamford Bridge but Chelsea weren’t prepared to sell.

That’s despite Rudiger dropping down to become Chelsea’s fifth-choice option behind Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori.

The latter was also close to leaving Chelsea on loan but he rejected a move to West Ham in order to battle for his place in the team.