There are a lot of players Chelsea need to decide what to do with this summer.
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley will have their say, while Enzo Maresca will surely be asked for his input.
Maresca will be in the Stamford Bridge dugout next season after deciding to join Chelsea on a five-year contract.
As far as one Chelsea player goes, it looks like a decision on whether he will be part of the Italian’s squad next term may have already been made.
Who could leave Chelsea on loan this summer?
Chelsea recently confirmed that Lesley Ugochukwu has been called up to France’s provisional squad for the Olympic Games.
Participation at the event could see the midfielder miss the Blues’ pre-season, with the final for the football not taking place until August 9.
The fact that Chelsea are not preventing Ugochukwu from linking up with his national team suggests Maresca may have already approved for the 20-year-old to leave the club on loan.
The 44-year-old will want to have his full squad available for pre-season as he tries to teach his players his way of football.
Allowing someone to miss pre-season perhaps indicates that that person is not currently in Maresca’s plans.
Should Chelsea have allowed Lesley Ugochukwu to be included in France’s Olympics squad?
If Ugochukwu is going out on loan, then there really is no need for him to be part of Chelsea’s pre-season.
And a loan is probably what the French youngster needs, though he could also miss pre-season at whichever club he ends up joining.
Ugochukwu, whom Mauricio Pochettino hailed as a “talented player”, has potential. However, with the likes of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez around, the two most expensive signings in Chelsea’s history, he will not get too much game time at Chelsea next season.
A loan move, then, could be what is best for the former Rennes man. And it seems like something Maresca is open to.