Chelsea’s season has plateaued in recent weeks, but Enzo Maresca’s start to life in the dugout still stands as a triumph. The crucial bit going forward is taking this exciting progress and hurling it toward even loftier heights.
There’s a general emphasis on offloading certain Blues players this year as Chelsea look to stay compliant with Premier League PSR rules while creating literal and financial space to make well-placed improvements.
But what actually are BlueCo seeking to achieve in the transfer market this month? The west Londoners might not be ready to clinch the top-flight title, but one or two pinpoint signings over the coming weeks could make all the difference in the long term.
Chelsea's winter transfer plans
While outgoings are going to take up more room in the discourse this month, Chelsea will make a first-team signing if they feel the right opportunities come along.
Chelsea are willing to sell Renato Veiga, 21, this January after the player made it known that he wishes to venture off for more first-team football.
It’s a bit of a blow to lose a young talent who only arrived last summer, but Todd Boehly’s enterprise paid out around £12m for the Basel star and he could be handed to Borussia Dortmund, who have a vested interest in his signature, reportedly for as much as £29m.
Matches (starts)
6 (6)
Goals
2
Assists
1
Touches*
98.0
Pass completion
90%
Key passes*
1.7
Dribbles completed
0.7
Ball recoveries*
5.5
Tackles + interceptions*
2.3
Total duels (won)*
3.0 (51%)
Ben Chilwell and Cesare Casadei are also expected to be plying their trade elsewhere before the month is up.
If Chelsea are going to bring someone in this month, it’s most likely going to be at centre-back. Paul Winstanley and Co appear to be biding their time, though there is one man who’s firmly at the top of the shopping list.
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Maresca eyeing new centre-back for Chelsea
Wesley Fofana is sidelined and may not return until the end of the season, with Benoit Badiashile also out injured. That’s why Chelsea courses have refrained from ruling out bringing another centre-half in before the end of the term.
Selhurst Park seems to be the probable raiding target. Trevoh Chalobah is currently on loan at Crystal Palace and could be recalled, but Marc Guehi is the shinier prize.
As per Caught Offside, Chelsea are leading the race for Guehi, who they sold to Palace for £18m in 2021 after he graduated from Cobham’s academy, with it noted that they are the only ‘serious contenders’ for his signature.
Chelsea are said to be ‘pushing to re-sign’ the centre-back and have received a boost through revelations that Liverpool are not in the race for the England international, They will need to stave off feint interest from Newcastle United, though, who saw a series of bids reaching £65m rejected for Guehi last summer.
Guehi, 24, is in the penultimate year of his Eagles contract and could be dissuaded in extending his deal given the high-profile intrigue in his name.
What Marc Guehi would bring to Chelsea
An established and experienced Premier League defender with his prime years ahead of him? Check. One-time Blues youngster, bearing a connection and love to Stamford Bridge and its denizens? Check once again.
Guehi has the whole gamut, with qualities honed within a steely Palace backline that has weathered its share of adversity over the past few years while also making improvements to his game under Oliver Glasner this term, ostensibly the south Londoners’ most progressive manager in recent seasons.
Chelsea would be welcoming a defensive force to their ranks, for Guehi has won 66% of his ground duels in the Premier League this season, as per Sofascore, making good on his reputation as a “monster” at the rear by Crystal Palace correspondent Bobby Manzi.
He’s also demonstrating the kind of vibrant and dynamic skill set that Maresca covets, averaging 0.4 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game, succeeding with 82% of his ball-carrying attempts.
Who knows, this might even prove to be a deal that echoes Liverpool’s transformational signing of Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk in January 2018, with Jurgen Klopp’s side paying out a record £75m fee for the Netherlands star.
The Reds needed to bolster their defence and in Van Dijk – a Dutch colossus who has become one of the greatest defenders of his generation – he helped revolusionise Liverpool’s team, leading from the back as Europe’s biggest titles were lifted.
Guehi carries himself with the same kind of deceptive nonchalance as Van Dijk. Though deceptive is definitely the key word, the Englishman is an intelligent reader of the game with a kind of prescient awareness of opponent attacks, positioning himself to snuff out or rebuff danger.
Analyst Ben Mattinson has actually praised Guehi for being “one of those versatile CBs who can play both sides equally as comfortably.” That’s certainly in the same vein as Van Dijk, who is right-footed but has plied his art on the left-hand side of Liverpool’s backline throughout his career.
A signing of this calibre might even prove to send the Maresca project to the next level, mirroring Liverpool’s stunning acquisition in being a January move, yes, but also a raid of a divisional rival lower down the ladder, so to speak.
It’s no surprise that Guehi has been described as a “dominant” defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig. He’s still on the fringes of his prime years and, like Van Dijk over on Merseyside, could be the catalyst for an illustrious spell at Chelsea under Maresca’s wing, completing and balancing an immensely talented squad.
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