Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel demands full focus from wantaway stars after window closes

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel will not tolerate anything less than "100% commitment" from his squad once the transfer window has closed.

As deadline day looms, several Blues players continue to be linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge.

Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi could all depart before the window slams shut on Thursday September 1 – but Tuchel has made it crystal clear what he expects from anyone who's still a Chelsea player beyond that date. Speaking ahead of Chelsea's trip to Southampton on Tuesday night, the German said:

"At the moment, I accept [that players may have their minds elsewhere] – but from September 1, there are no more excuses and no more distractions.

"I am very, very happy when the transfer window is over because then we have different leverage to push players and then the commitment has to be 100%; we will not accept 99%."

Tuchel's comments come amid reports that Hudson-Odoi is set to join Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan.

According to MailOnline, the England international informed the Blues earlier this month that he wanted to leave in search of more regular minutes.

Meanwhile, per Sky Sports, Ajax are working on a loan deal for Ziyech, who left the Dutch giants for Chelsea in 2020.

As for Pulisic – who has come off the bench in all four of the Blues' games so far this term – talk of a switch to Manchester United seems to have cooled.