There is a deep irony to Trevoh Chalobah putting in a man of the match performance on the day that Chelsea took the latest steps in trying to end his long-term future at the club. For Chalobah the player and Chalobah the person, this is nothing new.

His entire Chelsea career has been a series of different ways to prove people wrong. Good players are good no matter what, though, and Chalobah is really, really good.

From the moment his name was read out at Stamford Bridge prior to Monday night's match with Wolves - met with the biggest roar of the night at that stage, only really rivalled by the cheers of Reece James' own return to the starting XI - the next chapter in Chalobah's redemption story was being written. It is not he that needs redeeming, however.

Those who have watched Chalobah for the past four years since he broke into the team under Thomas Tuchel - no surprise that it came after being initially put down for a summer transfer before stepping up when injuries made the club desperate - have seen this before. Each time he rises from the ashes he does so much stronger.

Just imagine how great it could all have been if he was given a genuine platform rather than having one wiped away from him every six months. Meanwhile, Chelsea mess and rotate with more players deemed more glamorous than Chalobah. He is inevitable at this point, though, and his will cannot be repressed.

It didn't take long for him to make an impact here. Thrust straight into the heart of Chelsea's defence, and asked to play on his weaker left side along with Tosin Adarabioyo as a partner, Chalobah made multiple timely interventions. On the odd occasions that Wolves did foray forward, he was always there to snuff out the danger in a strong first half.

Try, for a moment, to imagine just how weird this must all have been for him whilst it all played out. Here are a set of adoring match-going fans who never left his back, hammering home the sporting failures that Chelsea have made. Chalobah returned not because Chelsea are an all-powerful behemoth but because he is simply too good of a person to leave his club on the side. A thing or two could be learned from Chalobah, because he has been the one regularly discarded without feeling or emotion (sometimes, it seems, without any thought or logic either).

When duty calls, Chalobah - and by extension, the Cobham academy from which he graduated as a professional footballer - never lets Chelsea down. He had to be asked for a massive favour by those who chucked him out over the summer. And here he was, doing what he does best, putting them in line with his performances.

Chalobah was the best player on the pitch as Chelsea beat Wolves 3-1. This all came just hours after a deal to bring in Mamdou Sarr, 19, from RC Strasbourg had been agreed. He will cost Chelsea around £15million, which is double what Strasbourg (also owned by BlueCo) paid for him last summer.

Sarr is a player Chelsea will now try to build around in the future. He will be competing against Aaron Anselmino, Wesley Fofana (when fit), and Adarabioyo. Chalobah, it is thought, is still only seen as a stop-gap.

That was the way his displays in the second half of last season were viewed as well. They were enough to help Mauricio Pochettino to a strong finish but not enough to warrant the trust of the sporting directors. Instead, Chalobah has gone the long and unorthodox way about showing his worth.

He continued his Chelsea form in a decent start to life at Crystal Palace, where he demonstrated for any lingering doubters that he is more than able to play a key role in a Premier League team with upward aspirations. There was never really any doubt that he would go on to slot back in upon his return either.

In the end, Chelsea may well see Chalobah's commanding presence at the heart of defence as justification for their actions. Here they get the best of both worlds; A player able to operate at a high level and also one who's price and stock will increase to the wider world.

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Everything that is heard around Chalobah suggests that the pathway to becoming part of the real Chelsea plan is pretty much non-existent. He will view that as a challenge and an entry that still needs writing.

Sarr is the next newby in his way but is by no means the first. Chalobah has seen Kalidou Koulibaly come and go. He might not be a match for Fofana when fit but is certainly more durable and reliable right now. Adarabioyo had a strong game against Wolves but has hardly given irrefutable evidence that a clear upgrade was made over the summer.

Axel Disasi is just about clinging to a place in the Chelsea squad but all signs point towards him being sold this month. Chalobah, without even playing at Chelsea, has managed to not only get a spot back in the team but has actually risen in stature during his six-month absence.

That is telling for those who have been signed and those who are yet to make a splash. Their in-possession back-three cost a grand total of £0 when rolled out by Enzo Maresca at SW6, and that in itself says a lot and is worth remembering.

For now, Chelsea will benefit from this wonderfully gifted player. He will prosper and continue to shine over those who cost millions to buy.

In the middle of it all, he slots in and plays, taking no time to adapt or to recharge. Unlike big-money arrivals there is no period of waiting for them to get up to speed or to learn the manager's ways. This has never been a problem for Chalobah.

He is unruffled, unrushed, and throughout it all playing like someone who the club really wish they could have purchased just to say it is they who found this demon. It is the ultimate compliment to Chalobah that he looked like he had never been away. It is the ultimate insult to those who had to go such a long and embarrassing way to get to this point.