Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admits the competition for places will be a challenge for someone like Trevoh Chalobah to navigate.
Chalobah was impressive for the Blues during a 2-2 preseason draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
With Chelsea closing in on the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, per English and Italian media outlets, attention will turn to who remains from the fringes of the squad.
When asked about young defender Chalobah by reporters, Tuchel said, per football.london: "We know him from Lorient and Chalo has done very well in pre-season.
"We wanted to continue in the back three, so there was space in the back until [Kurt] Zouma and Toni [Rudiger] arrived.
"Then there was one space left but then Andreas Christensen, Reece [James] and Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] are back then there is a huge competition for him.
"He's done very well in both games and within his potential and limits that was nice to see. He played a good match, I agree."