Chelsea’s January transfers: Who should the Blues buy, loan or sell?
7. Nate Hofmann
Buy: Jorginho
Jorginho is arguably the best pure passer in one of the most dynamic and exciting attacking sides in the world at Napoli. At 25, he’s the perfect age to make a move to a big club with a decent shot of slotting right into the first team. In an ideal world, he’d slowly take over Fabregas’ role as the midfield playmaker in Chelsea’s 3-5-2, and he offers more defensively than Fabregas does. Chelsea have looked a bit lost when Fabregas isn’t on the field, so another designated playmaking midfielder in the squad is a vital addition as the second half of the season comes around.
Loan: Callum Hudson-Odoi
Callum Hudson-Odoi has the potential to be special. At only 17, he’s started to make a name for himself recently with some exciting highlight plays and gaudy numbers, putting up seven goals and three assists in 12 appearances so far this season in the Premier League 2, EFL Cup, and UEFA Youth League.
He can play as a left, right, or central attacking midfielder, and going up against more experienced competition will be good for improving his physicality and decision making, both of which are traits required of top attacking players in the Premier League especially. He would benefit greatly from the grit and grind of League One or the Championship, but he could gain a lot by playing at Vitesse as well.
Sell: Kenedy
Kenedy does not seem to be in Antonio Conte’s plans at the moment, if he’s in his plans at all. The only position he seems to have a shot at playing is left wingback, and even then he has only deputized for Marcos Alonso twice this season, in Chelsea’s two EFL Cup matches. His loan move to Watford last season was a massive failure, and his inability to secure a loan move to Newcastle this summer means that he’s now gone almost 18 months without any regular playing time.
Considering that Chelsea still seem to be interested in Alex Sandro and have Baba Rahman making a return to full fitness, it seems like there’s little chance of Kenedy finding himself anywhere near the first team in the months ahead. He still has plenty of unrealized potential, so it’s possible he could still fetch a decent price above the ~£6m Chelsea paid for him in 2013. This would be an ideal situation in which to add a buyback clause to the transfer negotiation, given that he’s still only 21.
Next: Chelsea's predicted 3-5-2 as they bid to secure top spot against Atletico