In January, Chelsea had one of the most incredible, record-shattering transfer windows of any club in the history of football, comprehensively rewriting the script at the club and continuing a lucrative spending spree since Todd Boehly assumed ownership less than a year ago.

Indeed, since the opulent American businessman took control of the Blues, he has spent approximately £545m, with the £52.4m release clause of RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku having also been met.

Despite this remarkable outlay, Chelsea have been rather modest with their outgoings, with roughly £60m collected through player sales, and the squad at Stamford Bridge now requires some considerable trimming.

Despite selling 31-year-old Jorginho to Arsenal for £12m - an admirable deal considering that his contract was set to expire at the end of the campaign - there must now be an emphasis on relieving the Blues of squad excess to make way for further incomings in west London over the summer.

One player who was subject to attention in the closing stages of the January transfer window is Conor Gallagher, with Chelsea's industrious midfielder of interest to the likes of Everton before the deadline, with the Toffees having been willing to pay £45m for the 22-year-old.

The end of the season might offer Chelsea a more feasible opportunity to sift through the ranks and highlight players who are deemed expendable, ready to move on and continue the systematic restructure at the club. However, Blues boss Graham Potter should still have pushed to let Gallagher leave, especially given the amount that Everton were willing to play for someone who hasn't been a fixed presence at Stamford Bridge.

The midfielder has made 25 appearances this season, although he has only started nine of the Blues' 20 games in the Premier League and might find his game-time further restricted following the £107m signing of Enzo Fernandez, with N'Golo Kante also expected to return to full training this month following his lengthy hamstring injury.

The £17k-per-week ace's quality was on full show following a successful loan spell with Crystal Palace last season, where he served as a focal point for the Eagles and forged an impressive Sofascore rating of 7.08, scoring eight goals and supplying three assists to complement his 81% pass success rate and match averages of 1.1 key passes and two tackles.

While there is no questioning that the 22-year-old is a talented and diligent figure who could continue to blossom into a reliable player as he nurtures his way into prominence, it looks increasingly unlikely that Chelsea will offer him the platform that he requires in order to truly flourish.

Technical director Christopher Vivell was also actively pursuing a move for Brighton & Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo, who was subject to a £55m bid from Chelsea in the days leading up to January transfer deadline day, with the Seagulls starlet burgeoning into one of the Premier League's most capable pivots, a position that Gallagher also likes to occupy.

SunSport remarked in a recent Twitter post that Gallagher is a player who "struggles for Chelsea minutes", and despite his evident quality, the chances that he will fit into Potter's first-choice XI become more tenuous by the week, especially given the relentless pursuit of fresh options by Boehly, who ought to have cashed in on the England midfielder last month.