Chelsea sold David Luiz to rivals Arsenal in a deadline day deal which all but confirmed the Brazilian was suprlus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have Kurt Zouma back from his loan at Everton last season, as well as Andreas Christensen and Anthony Rudiger.
All three will be battling for the two starting spots in the heart of Chelsea's defence.
The club has also kept hold of youngster Fikayo Tomori as back-up, instead of sending him out on loan as was initially planned.
However, according to The Telegraph, if Frank Lampard feels his defence needs more steel come next summer, Chelsea will look to former player Nathan Ake.
Ake has a purchase option in his contract that only Chelsea can activate and means they can sign him for £40 million.
That figure is £35 million less than Bournemouth were asking for the 24-year-old Dutch international at the back end of this summer's transfer window.
It's believed that Ake would be open to a return to West London and would relish the challenge of competing for a starting position at the club.
READ MORE...
The 14 biggest opening-day shocks in Premier League history
Quiz! Can you name the first goalscorer for every Premier League club in 2018/19?
