Chelsea are reported to have held back money during the summer transfer window specifically to allow for January investment if needed.
Alongside welcoming the pre-agreed arrivals of Estêvão and Dário Essugo, Chelsea once again spent big in the summer as they recruited João Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato for over £200 million ($269.2 million).
That may not be the end of Chelsea’s recruitment as, according to the Daily Mail, there is still money in the bank to fund January signings as well.
The winter window has typically been a quiet one for Chelsea under the BlueCo ownership. While January 2023 yielded the record-breaking spend on Enzo Fernández, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoît Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and six months of João Félix, the only player to have signed for Chelsea in the last two windows is young midfieder Mathis Amougou, who arrived earlier this year and was sold to Strasbourg six months later.
Chelsea clearly do not prioritise the January transfer window but, with questions over some areas of the squad, could be forced into action at the start of the year.
Chelsea Short of Centre Backs After Colwill Injury
Among the areas of concern are centre back, where Levi Colwill’s ACL injury has left an enormous hole. Manager Enzo Maresca has been at pains to remind those in charge of what he deems to be an insufficient list of alternatives, having clashed with club officials when he pushed for a replacement this summer.
Goalkeeper is also an area which could be revisited. Chelsea wanted AC Milan’s Mike Maignan before the Club World Cup but walked away over a £5 million difference in valuation of the Frenchman, who was keen to join and is approaching the final six months of his contract.
Robert Sánchez is under pressure after an early red card in the defeat to Manchester United, while his replacement, Filip Jörgensen, hasn’t covered himself in glory.
The Blues could even raise further funds through player departures. Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi both continue to train away from the club ahead of what everybody involved hopes will be January exits which, while unlikely to be particularly lucrative at this point, would free up significant space on the wage books.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Chelsea Hatch Plan for January Transfer Window.
