Chelsea transfer targets for what must be an active January window
With the recent injuries to N’Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata, Chelsea FC’s board will have seen the need for greater reinforcements in January.
On many occasions I have highlighted that January is not a good time to make transfers. January deals are rarely – if ever – good pieces of business. The desperation is obvious. Chelsea have, however, put themselves in the position of needing January transfers after their mediocre dealings over the summer.
The Premier League is too competitive for Chelsea not to try to improve this January. With Manchester United and City both playing fantastic football and Tottenham maturing at the rate they are, there simply is not a lot of room for mistakes.
Chelsea won the Premier League last season in large part because they did not have to compete on other fronts. They were well-rested and had essentially a week to prepare for every opponent physically and mentally.
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In the space of a couple weeks Chelsea lost perhaps their two most influential players. In the time prior to that, they lost their most influential one. Think about it: Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata and N’Golo Kante have all spent time on the treatment table this season. Last season Chelsea had no significant injuries. This season, already three. That is not a good sign moving into the influential Christmas period and the latter half of the season.
Chelsea need to make some additions. They will probably make a bid for Alex Sandro, but he is not going to leave Turin in January. He is already cup-tied, and playing for a team that has actual potential to win the Champions League.
Chelsea should chase Faouzi Ghoulam of Napoli with a lowball January bid, seeing as his contract is up in the summer. They should do the same with Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal. Luckily, he will not be cup-tied, so he would be a fantastic addition to the team from day one. Finally, if they can simply recall Reuben Loftus-Cheek, that would be useful as well.
The 3-5-2 has looked a little unbalanced with Cesc Fabregas in it. If Loftus-Cheek were to play alongside Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante, Chelsea would very quickly have the most dynamic midfield in the Premier League.
Must Read: Woeful Crystal Palace side are ideal opponents for Chelsea at this time
If they do not want to recall Loftus-Cheek, they have other options and Loftus-Cheek would still be on the right path. The experience he is building by playing every match as a starter at Crystal Palace will keep him on the road to Chelsea’s XI.
The Blues could easily sign Asier Illeramendi from Real Sociedad or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio. They can probably rescue Idrissa Gueye from the sinking ship that is Everton, as well. He also has the advantage of not being cup-tied. Maxime Golanons is a particular favorite, as the Lyon star had both excellent distribution and tackling numbers last season that rivaled Kante’s.
Chelsea could, of course, also chase Arturo Vidal, who may want out of whatever is wrong at Bayern Munich. That alone could appease an angry Antonio Conte.
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Chelsea have a lot of options moving into the next phase of the season, but doing nothing in the January transfer window is not one of them.