On Wednesday evening, Chelsea hit another bump in the road as Chelsea drew against Brighton 1-1 at home. Another two points dropped in the title race - as Manchester City won 1-0 against Brentford.
But with the new year approaching and the January transfer window opening very soon, Chelsea has one clear priority - to bring in a defender.
The contracts of four backline members, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen, all run out at the end of the season.
Speaking before the game against Brighton, an ex-Blue commented on the club finding itself in a strange situation with expiring contracts.
Gus Poyet, who was a pundit for the coverage on Amazon prime, warned that it’s a ‘big issue’ for Chelsea and one that the manager Thomas Tuchel, would be looking at.
”It’s a big issue because they’re all different,” Poyet explained. “How old they are. How long do they want to keep playing? How much do you want to stay? Are you happy at the club? It’s very strange to see Christensen, Thiago Silva, Azpilicueta and Rudiger have contracts that finish at the same time and not want to stay.
“It’s six months. Maybe some of them want to go to the end, but they need to keep playing and give 100%. Others are desperate to sign the contract. But, it’s very strange to see this in a big club.
“I’m sure the manager is looking into this with a lot of power if he can.”
Chelsea relies on a solid defensive lineup, which saw them win the Champions League for the second time. It's hard to see how things will play out come the new year.
But, the Blues' have been linked with several defensive targets, including Sevilla's Jules Kounde and Juventus player Matthijs de Ligt. Although another former Chelsea player thought they'd be okay for the season defensively.
Eni Aluko speaking as a pundit for Wednesday's game, said that the club's backline at the moment is 'strong', "Chelsea has built a lot of their success with clean sheets. That's gone away a little bit, but they are still winning games and getting points out of matches even if they're not performing.
"So, I think defensively they're still there. Mendy has had a few shaky moments, but I still think Chelsea defensively are strong."
In many ways, Poyet is right about a club as big as Chelsea having a weird situation where four players see the end of their contracts, all in the same part of the pitch. Let's hope it doesn't ensue into a chaotic moment for the club, though. It's not chaos just yet.
As things stand, Antonio Rudiger is looking unlikely to put pen to paper at Chelsea for another contract. Chelsea fans will have to wait and see what happens with all four deals. But, there could be a significant shift in what their defence looks like come next summer.
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