The three major signings Chelsea could still make before deadline passes - including £78m superstar

The curtain has almost fallen on another non-stop transfer window for Chelsea that’s seen nine arrivals and 14 departures for fees, but with over 24 hours left there’s still time for ore moving and shaking at Stamford Bridge.

That’s 23 permanent deals at the time of writing and not including the loan move for Facundo Buonanotte or the signing of Julio Enciso to feeder club Strasbourg, while it could’ve gone up again between you starting and finishing reading this article - such is the rate that Chelsea do business

And yes, we know it’s hard to believe there are still three professional footballers in existence that Chelsea haven’t already signed or been rejected by but for all the Blues’ continued hoovering of talent, holes remain particularly up the spine of the team.

A move for a goalkeeper to compete with Robert Sanchez appears unlikely though it’s hard to fathom why, with Enzo Maresca focussing on upgrading his outfield with attacking midfield and centre-back both priority positions. But who could fill them?

Fermin Lopez - Barcelona

While it seems like Chelsea have signed 50% of attacking players under the sun thanks to Todd Boehly, Cole Palmer’s injury leaves Chelsea a bit thin at number 10 with only 18-year-old Kendry Paez and the incoming Buonanotte a natural in the role plus Enzo Fernandez, Estevao and Joao Pedro as out-of-position options.

It’s a slightly ridiculous situation when you consider the volume of wingers they’ve signed in the last few years - Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and most recently Alejandro Garnacho while prodigious academy graduate Tyrique inches closer to an exit - but that’s Chelsea for you.

And after missing out on Xavi Simons, according to Ben Jacobs Maresca’s gaze has turned to Fermin Lopez who’s scored 19 goals and made 11 assists in 89 games for Barcelona.

Dropped for Marcus Rashford last weekend against Levante, the La Masia youth product has experience on the left flank but is best through the middle and while Lopez would be unlikely to displace Palmer for the biggest games, he’d be a solid first rotation option.

The player himself wants to stay in Catalonia but with valuations ranging from at least €60 million (£52m) all the way up to €90m (£78m) it’s understandable why Barcelona could look to cash in on the 22-year-old given their perennial money troubles.

Federico Gatti - Juventus

After Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury that required surgery in pre-season training, the remaining centre-backs contract at Stamford Bridge had combined for 148 at the heart of Chelsea’s defence at an average of 18.5 games each - and even that was skewed through Trevoh Chalobah who accounted for over a third of that total.

So defensive reinforcements - and preferably experienced injury-free ones - are a priority for Chelsea who were pursuing Ronald Araujo before he signed a long-term contract extension for Barcelona.

Instead they’ve been linked with 27-year-old Juventus defender Federico Gatti, though not yet by the most reputable sources it must be said, for €25m-€30m (£21m-£25m).

Having fought his way up from working as a bricklayer while playing amateur football to bringing up a century of games for the most successful club in Serie A history, Gatti certainly doesn’t play like a brick outhouse.

His pass completion rate last year of 94.5% put him in the top percentile of centre backs in Europe’s top five leagues and his carrying distance per 90 minutes was in the same ballpark as Savinho, Jan Paul van Hecke and Mateo Kovacic.

Just as importantly, he’s only missed six games through injury in three seasons at Juventus.

Marc Guehi - Crystal Palace

Chelsea have only actually conceded multiple goals in a game once since mid-April, a spell that’s seen them reach two finals, win both of them and record competitive wins over Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest so one could be forgiven for asking what the issue is at the back.

Simply put, every successful Premier League title win of the modern era has been built on totemic centre-back and goalkeeper partnerships - think John Terry and Riccardo Carvalho, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic or Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate in front of Alisson last season.

Even when a team’s defensive core wasn’t as star-studded, there has always been an experienced head marshalling things at the back. Think Vincent Kompany for Manchester City, Gary Cahill in Chelsea’s last Premier League triumph or even both Robert Huth for Leicester City, who never possessed the finesse of Chalobah but had played 254 games in the division by the start of that fairytale season and ironically got his break in England with the Blues.

Though he’s only been 25 for a month, Marc Guehi has made almost as many top-flight appearances as Chelsea’s current healthy centre-backs combined and amid the continuing Alexander Isak developments Liverpool seem unwilling to meet Crystal Palace’s valuation of £50m-£70m.

Mix in Guehi’s history with Chelsea plus the option to remain in London and it’s a situation ripe for a hijack.

While he turned 23 just this year, Hincapie has already made over 100 Bundesliga appearances including 26 in Bayer Leverkusen’s own mythical league victory and has what it takes to anchor Maresca’s defence.

While Arsenal lead the race for him right now, Chelsea have been interested in the £52m Ecuadorian for as long as the Gunners who apparently favour an initial loan deal, so the situation is ripe for a hijack.