Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia might have created transfer headache for Frank Lampard

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard will have at least five new faces available to him when the new season starts next weekend with a deal for Kai Havertz expected to be announced soon. Transfer negotiator Marina Granovskaia has been working tirelessly behind the scenes this summer to try and bolster Chelsea's first-team squad ahead of a potential title challenge next season. This summer has seen a host of changes at Stamford Bridge with the club now being able to spend the money from Eden Hazard's sale to Real Madrid. Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner were two deals done early on in the summer with Ben Chilwell soon following. Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr have also joined as free agents, although the latter is expected to leave on a season-long loan away from Chelsea. And a deal to sign Havertz for a club-record deal worth up to £90million is expected to be announced in the near future. Signing replacements for both Pedro and Willian were equally important with Ziyech and Werner coming into those forward positions. However, while Chilwell starting on a regular basis will be unlikely to disrupt Chelsea's squad, Lampard has a bigger challenge on his hand to accommodate the other signings while also keeping those same young players who impressed last season happy. The likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour and Reece James all enjoyed breakout campaigns. Werner and Havertz will almost certainly be regular starters in the front three positions with Christian Pulisic earning high praise for his performances in the second half of last season. That could well mean that both Abraham and Mount face difficult tasks to become regular first-team starters again. In the meantime, in defence, Tomori is likely to drop down the pecking order with Silva expected to be a regular starter. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is expected to hold down his spot at right-back which could spell bad news for James, with Antonio Rudiger likely partnering Silva at the back. So Lampard should know how to handle players who will not be in the starting XI on a regular basis with the new arrivals being given a chance to show what they can. Source- Daily and Sunday Express

Chelsea ace Christian Pulisic at heart of Kai Havertz shirt number decision after transfer