Chelsea striker Liam Delap has lost the number nine shirt at the club and is training separately from the first-team squad at Cobham. Several players potentially moving before the 1 September transfer deadline, including Nicolas Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk, are in a second training group alongside new signings Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. Unlike last season's controversial "bomb squad" approach, club sources insist the current setup involves players training adjacent to Xabi Alonso's main squad rather than being frozen out.

The smaller group includes defenders Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi, with around 12 players rotating between groups. Academy players can also move between sessions. Chelsea are seeking £65m for Jackson, £50m for Delap, and £25m for Disasi.

Ukraine winger Mudryk, 25, is available on loan after resolving a doping case, while Tosin, 28, attracts interest from Benfica and Marseille. The Blues aim to reduce their 40-player senior squad before the window closes. Delap joined from Ipswich Town for £30m last summer but scored just one Premier League goal in 28 appearances, mostly as a substitute.