Chelsea ready to make three final announcements after transfer deadline day

Alejandro Garnacho does not have a shirt number at Chelsea (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Very few transfers were as telegraphed as Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea . From January, no matter the noise, it was a one track road ending up at Stamford Bridge.

Be it for £60million (a price Chelsea were never going to pay), £25million (a price Manchester United were never going to sell at), with players included, or for somewhere in the middle, Garnacho was on his way. Once the summer started in full, it was not so much a transfer saga but a protracted wait.

All parties knew where it was headed and Garnacho had set his sights on joining Enzo Maresca's squad. When it was announced, there was barely a flutter of acknowledgement.

Garnacho had been at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon to watch Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 from the directors' box . He was still, at least to the public, officially a United player. It did not matter because he had been a Chelsea man in all but name for months anyway.

The unveiling of an exciting winger from a rival club would usually be something newsworthy but even after the length of time it took to complete this deal, it took a backseat. Chelsea had been in full chaos mode for 24 hours regarding the potential exit of Nicolas Jackson.

Bayern Munich agreed a loan with an option to buy that both teams were happy to boast about. Then Liam Delap got injured at 12:45pm. By 4:30pm Chelsea had called to say the move was off. At 5pm it was clear Jackson and his camp - led by the increasingly central Ali Barat - were not going to accept this and would fight.

It's no surprise that Garnacho's haircut and dress sense got more attention than the confirmation of a transfer everyone had expected. Now the window is closed, he becomes more of an attraction.

This is a 21-year-old with almost 100 Premier League matches to his name. He has a record 16 goals and assists in there, mostly for a dysfunctional United team. As a teenage talent, he has had plenty of attacking weight put on his shoulders up to this point.

Chelsea hope to release that and see him thrive in a better environment. They will hope to treat him well and get the rewards. The next two weeks of international football give him a chance to settle into his new surroundings.

It is time to breathe in the football world after a manic summer window. Garnacho is training at Cobham alongside fellow Argentine teammate Facundo Buonanotte . They will have Marc Guiu alongside them as the three arrivals from a dramatic weekend.

So much of the outlook has been on what Chelsea have not done and the controversy around a lot of it. Now, with the actual sport itself coming back into the picture, the players and their actions will be the real talking point.

To that extent, Chelsea do have three more big announcements to make Garnacho, Buonanotte, and Guiu have all yet to be handed shirt numbers for the new season.

Chelsea released their initial numbers on August 8, leaving out Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, and a handful of others . That indicated their position in the squad which was, in truth, already clear.

Since then, Jackson and Christopher Nkunku have departed, freeing up No.15 and No.18. Up to Romeo Lavia's No.45, there are 20 available.

For Garnacho, his No.17 from United was taken by Andrey Santos, who inherited it from Carney Chukwuemeka over the summer. He could go to his academy number, 49. Garnacho has previously worn No.11 as well but that was taken by Jamie Gittens after Noni Madueke's move to Arsenal.

On paper, the most appealing numbers for Garnacho are 18 or 19. Guiu may well fancy one of those himself as both are regular substitutes for his favoured No.9.

Guiu has also taken the No.38, No.29, and No.15 before. 38 is free but 29 is taken by Wesley Fofana. 15 has been made available after Jackson's exit.

As for Buonanotte, he can have his No.40 top that followed him from Brighton to Leicester City. Chelsea now have plenty of time to prepare a final transfer flourish for an announcement.