Chelsea: Clubs wasting their time pursuing Zouma, Batshuayi and Bakayoko

Premier League clubs are starting to circle Chelsea in the hopes of being first to catch whoever Frank Lampard is willing to let go for the season. They would be better off moving on to their back-up options.

A handful of midtable Premier League clubs have not been paying attention to the new way of doing things at Chelsea FC. They seem to think this season will be like any other, where returning loanees have but a layover at the Blues’ preseason training camp before heading out on another loan. For some players that will obviously be the case, but not for the players they want.

Marco Silva yammered on about how much Everton are still hoping to pick up Kurt Zouma for another season, preferably more on a permanent transfer. Crystal Palace, having signed Jordan Ayew, are ready to shift their attention to bringing back Michy Batshuayi. And Manchester United are apparently interested in Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Of all the players who were not with the Blues last season but are with the squad in Dublin now, these three are among the most likely to stay.

Even if Frank Lampard decides that he is willing to start the season without one of them, he will not make that decision until much later, perhaps after the Premier League season has already begun. Those clubs will have a more fruitful summer if they put their efforts towards their secondary targets, and then, if none of those pan out and their desired Chelsea player is available in late August, they can come back in for them.

To some extent, their fans seem more attuned to the changes at Chelsea than the clubs are. Many Crystal Palace and Everton pundits accept that Michy Batshuayi and Kurt Zouma, respectively, will be Blues this season. They recognize that the transfer ban, Frank Lampard’s commitment to starting everyone with a clean slate and the plain fact of how well those players performed in the Premier League last season will combine to keep them at Stamford Bridge. They understand, perhaps in a way that Marco Silva does not, that “returning loanee” is not synonymous with “prospective loanee,” as it would have in most recent seasons.

These three players – Batshuayi, Zouma and Bakayoko – are also much less dispensable than they may seem at first glance.

In the last two seasons, Chelsea appeared willing to go through the season under-manned at striker and sent Batshuayi on loan despite his strong performances and timely goals. Perhaps the option of using Eden Hazard as a false-nine was a security blanket for Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri, allowing them to think they only needed two strikers. Frank Lampard will not have that option. Nor will he be able to bring in someone like Gonzalo Higuain on loan, given the transfer (registration) ban, the fact that Lampard does not have a striker who knew his system from four years ago in another country and since Lampard is not, you know, a nicotine-addled superstitious nepotistic fool.

Antonio Rudiger’s injury has been somewhat overshadowed by Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s and Callum Hudson-Odoi’s, but he is still some distance away from being fully match fit. Even if he is ready to start on opening day, Lampard will want as many options as possible so as not to rush Rudiger back into the lineup and provide cover as necessary.

Chelsea have a lot of midfielders, but of them, only Tiemoue Bakayoko approaches N’Golo Kante’s level of defensive acumen. Lampard will likely want Bakayoko as a backup for Kante in cup games and an option to partner with Kante when Chelsea need to play extra defensively.

Each of these players is needed simply to round out the squad. Add into the equation their ability levels, and pragmatism and performance come together to make them almost certain to remain with the team this season.

Chelsea will obviously send some of the players in Dublin on loan. But for the most part they will be youth players, the kind who should be going out on loan – not mid-career players who Chelsea are stranding in professional purgatory.

Any clubs interested in signing Kurt Zouma, Michy Batshuayi or Tiemoue Bakayoko should get comfortable while they wait. Better yet, they could update themselves on Chelsea’s new way of doing things and go find someone else to chase.