EXCL: Mudryk feels burdened by price tag, Colwill told he has starting England CB chance, Poch trying to restore serial winning mentality, PL 'approving' sponsorship, & much more...

The Ben Jacobs Chelsea column!

The international break should benefit Chelsea even though they have had a lot of time to stew over the disappointing 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. Although a lot of players are away on international duty, the ones that remain can focus on Bournemouth, which is in many ways a must-win game.

Chelsea can't afford to fall too far behind in the race for Champions League football even this early in the season, especially with a tough run of fixtures in late September and October.

Raheem Sterling's England omission felt harsh, but I expect it to give him even more incentive to prove Gareth Southgate wrong. He's already made a very positive start to the season and will no doubt use the break to focus on turning Chelsea's fortunes around.

I would expect Levi Colwill to make his senior England debut against Scotland on Tuesday. Colwill hasn't just been earmarked as a potential squad player. He has been told he stands a chance of being a starting centre-back at Euro 2024. That's why it was so important to him over the summer to get a clear plan from Chelsea before signing his new deal.

Away from those on international duty, the international break also gives Armando Broja further time to get match fit and he's getting closer now to challenging Nicolas Jackson, or at least supporting him off the bench.

And Ian Maatsen and Marc Cucurella will be looking for some clarity as to their likely minutes. With both choosing to stay there's probably one too many left-backs at the club, even though Maatsen has been used in a more advanced position.