Summer transfer window is close and ahead of the opening day, Chelsea have been linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
On Monday, the club confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the head coach. The Blues had an unimpressive 2022/23 season as they finished 12th in Premier League and were eliminated from all cup competitions as well as European football.
The Blues won't be participating in any European tournaments and are preparing to strengthen their team for better results in 2023/24 season in the league.
Chelsea are believed to be interested in strengthening the positions of goalkeeper, midfielder and striker.
Ugarte has been the name most recently being linked with the Blues. Amid the rumours, VBET News have taken a look at what shirt numbers are available at the club for the newcomers.
Ahead of the new season, there could be several players on their way as their contracts at the club expire. Joao Felix and Denis Zakaria played at the club on loan and if they don't sign permanent deals, their contracts expire as of June 30, 2023.
Meanwhile, N'Golo Kante's contract also expires in the summer of 2023.
If Felix, Zakaria and Kante leave Chelsea, their numbers, 11, 20 and 7, respectively, will be vacant. Ugarte's current number at Sporting is 15, which is occupied by Mykhailo Mudryk.
However, during his career, the defensive midfielder has worn numbers 8, 20 and 26 at the back of his shirt for the clubs, meanwhile, on an international level, he wore numbers 6, 25, 5, 17.
From the numbers that the Sporting midfielder has worn previously, 25 is currently vacant at Chelsea.
Several numbers could also be vacated as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (9), Christian Pulisic (10), Hakim Ziyech (22), Mason Mount (19) and Kai Havertz (29) have been linked with a move away.