Chelsea transfer roundup: Edouard Mendy teammate drops hint as pair near exit

Chelsea remain active in the transfer market, with the Blues looking to offload some out-of-favour players and potentially make one or two more additions ahead of the new season.

Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr have all arrived already as Frank Lampard prepares his charges for their opening weekend fixture against Brighton.

However, there may be more announcements on the way, both in terms of new recruits and exits, and we have the latest on some notable player movements as a couple of pieces of business appear to be drawing closer.

Batshuayi drops hint about next move

Michy Batshuayi is still a Chelsea player with just a few days left until the start of the 2020/21 Premier League season, but a departure for the Belgian looks to be getting closer.

The former Marseille striker was in action for his country in their UEFA Nations League game against Iceland, scoring twice in a 5-1 victory, and in his comments to the Belgian press after the game he appeared to drop a hint about his future.

“Am I going to sign [new contract] at Chelsea to be loaned to Crystal Palace? You’re on the right track when you say that. It’s something like that,” he told RTBF, as translated by Sport Witness.

Batshuayi spent the second half of the 2018/19 season on loan at Palace, scoring five goals in 757 league minutes (per WhoScored) but returned to Chelsea last season.

However, the 26-year-old struggled for minutes last season, starting just once in the league, and is expected to have his opportunities at Stamford Bridge limited further by the summer arrival of Timo Werner.

Rennes team-mate appears to confirm Mendy exit

Edouard Mendy has jumped to the front of the queue in Chelsea’s pursuit of a new goalkeeper to challenge Kepa for his starting spot, and the Blues are reportedly closing in on the Senegal international.

Mendy has only just completed his first season at Rennes, having joined from Reims in 2019, but is reportedly available for a fee in the region of £25million.

Nothing has been confirmed as yet, but Rennes captain Damien da Silva has seemingly dropped a bombshell about the future of his team-mate.

“We are a little selfish, we don’t want to lose Edouard Mendy,” Da Silva told Telefoot (via football.london).

“But it’s part of football and the transfer market. He’s a great goalkeeper who deserves what happens to him.”

With Mendy between the sticks, Rennes posted the joint-best defensive record in Ligue 1 last season and finished in the third Champions League spot.

The 28-year-old has already featured for his team this season, playing in Rennes’ 1-1 league draw at Lille.

Tomori poised for loan exit ahead of new season

Chelsea centre-back Fikayo Tomori looks to be the odd man out defensively following the summer arrival of Thiago Silva.

The England international played 22 times for the Blues last season, scoring his first goal for the club in a league win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but didn’t feature after February and was an unused substitute for the last few games of the season after returning from injury.

According to the BBC, he is now on the verge of a loan switch to Everton, who are after defensive reinforcements amid injury concerns around Mason Holgate.