Rice, Bellingham, Jorginho, Kante: Boehly’s current Chelsea plans outlined as Potter braced for transfer backing

Chelsea are bracing themselves for a big summer in 2023 in the transfer window which could see an overhaul to Graham Potter’s midfield.

Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in May, they have put their money where their mouth is and splashed more than £250 million of new signings to back then head coach Thomas Tuchel which Potter is now benefiting from.

Chelsea know it’s not going to be a quick process to rebuild the squad but as one deal follows another, it will get closer to being complete.

One area of the team which will see movement in the summer is the midfield. It’s crunch time. Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are both out of contract at the end of the season and decisions will be needed to be made over their futures at the club.

As reported by The Athletic, Jorginho is expected to leave but Kante’s future ‘remains in the balance’.

Jorginho was recently quizzed on his future and refused to be drawn on it, saying: “Of course I do (want to stay), I love Chelsea. But this is a thing I’m not going to think about now.

“I need to think about winning games. Otherwise it’s a problem. I’ll focus game by game and then we’ll see what’s going to happen.

“But my mind is on Chelsea now and trying to win as many games as possible.”

Kante is currently out until at least the end of February with a hamstring injury which saw him undergo surgery in October.

Chelsea can no longer rely on Kante, who is now 31, to be fit throughout the whole season. It has left Potter and other Chelsea managers having to manage his fitness to get the maximum out of the France international.

With both Jorginho and Kante’s futures uncertain, Chelsea are looking to bring in new recruits.

Declan Rice of West Ham and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, both England internationals, are on the club’s list of targets ahead of next summer.

Chelsea face strong competition for both midfielders. Manchester City and Manchester United want Rice and Bellingham, while Real Madrid and Liverpool are aiming to land Bellingham from Dortmund to add to their respective midfields.

Boehly will need to get his cheque-book out again next summer. He has already done so with the imminent arrivals of David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos, but this is a next level transfer.

Should Chelsea complete a transfer for Rice and/or Bellingham, it will put them in good stead for the future of the team.