Chelsea may have made an impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca, but the Blues hierarchy are looking further ahead than simply sitting in third place in the Premier League table.

Maresca demanded that players were sold and loaned out during the summer transfer window in order to leave him with his desired 24 or 25 players in the first-team squad.

As many as 18 players were allowed to find temporary homes for at least the first half of the season, primarily to determine whether they could have long-term futures in West London.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how they are faring on the domestic and international scene, with Chelsea's sister club already proving to be money well spent.

Strasbourg success

With Liam Rosenior now at the helm, Strasbourg are continuing to endure an inconsistent campaign, with their results ranging from beating Marseille to losing away at lowly Saint-Etienne.

However, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital will be delighted with the progression of Andrey Santos, with the Brazil international scoring five times from 10 starts in central-midfield and putting himself among the top performers with regards to most duels won.

Maresca has already spoken about the possibility of reintegrating the 20-year-old back into his ranks, and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic will hope for similar. The Serbia international has made eight starts between the sticks.

The development of young American Caleb Wiley has been hit by a knee injury, but the wide player recently returned to take his appearance tally to five games.

Top-flight performers

Chelsea and Arsenal would have been hoping that Raheem Sterling's stint in North London would lead to a permanent deal being agreed at a later date.

Instead, the winger has allegedly under-performed in training, resulting in just four starts and four substitute outings in all competitions. The 29-year-old has only directly contributed to a goal in an EFL Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has made six starts for Bournemouth, with the Spaniard having been in line to feature more had he not recently suffered a minor injury.

Trevoh Chalobah has also made six starts for Crystal Palace, albeit in all competitions. The defender is yet to feature in an Eagles backline that has conceded more than twice in a single game.

Highly-regarded midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu has found himself in and out of the team at struggling Southampton. A total of five starts and three substitute outings have been made in all competitions.

Armando Broja is yet to make an appearance for Everton due to injury and the expectation is that the Albania international will not feature until December.

EFL experience

Chelsea sent two players to Championship promotion-chasing clubs before the end of the summer transfer window, and they have each proven to be a success thus far.

Alfie Gilchrist has made 13 starts and two substitute outings at Sheffield United, who have conceded just seven goals in their 15 second-tier fixtures.

Meanwhile, Bashir Humphreys has played nine times for a Burnley side who also boast a similarly strong defensive record, albeit the England Under-21 international featuring at full-back rather than in the centre.

In League One, American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina has 11 starts for Barnsley to his name, while young playmaker Leo Castledine has chipped in with two goals from his 11 starts and two substitute outings at Shrewsbury Town.

Defender Dylan Williams has featured on 11 occasions for a lowly Burton Albion, with goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe showing plenty of promise at League Two side Doncaster Rovers through conceding just 17 goals from 15 starts.

On a negative note, another young goalkeeper in Eddie Beach has played just one EFL Trophy tie for Crawley Town and attacker Ronnie Stutter has featured for just 18 minutes for Burton.

What about the rest?

Chelsea committed to a £15.6m deal for defender Aaron Anselmino several months ago and he has since made a further nine outings for Boca Juniors.

The hope is that the 19-year-old will eventually move to English football and cement himself as an important player for both the Blues and Argentina.

Meanwhile, forward David Datro Fofana is part of a Goztepe squad that sit in sixth position in the Super Lig table. The Ivorian has scored once in his three starts and three substitute appearances in Turkey's top flight.