Chelsea: Premier League injuries will rattle the January transfer market
By George Perry
The Premier League had a brutal weekend for injuries, particularly at the top of the table. Chelsea were unscathed, but will feel the effects in the January transfer window.
Chelsea are among the lucky few Premier League teams to not add to their injury list over the weekend. The top six paid a particularly high price in the number and importance of their newly-injured players. Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Mezut Ozil and Mohamed Salah all suffered injuries of varying severity in the final “festive” weekend.
The spate of injuries among the top teams could make the January transfer window more active and more expensive than usual. In general, January transfers cost more because teams do not look for new additions mid-season unless they are in a particularly desperate state, whether overall or at a particular position. Now that those hard-up teams include both Manchester clubs, some transfers may set records for the club or even the league for a particular position.
The injury to Gabriel Jesus put a premium on City’s anticipated offer for Alexis Sanchez. Pep Guardiola is even more insistent on Antonio Conte about having two players at each position. Guardiola will not want to rely entirely or Sergio Aguero, not be forced into a single-striker formation until Jesus returns.
At Manchester United, Ed Woodward and the board may just call Jose Mourinho’s bluff. They could open the checkbook for him, telling him they will be anyone he wants at any price demanded, on the condition that he put up or shut up for the second half of the season. The injuries to Lukaku, Ibrahimovic and Fellaini and the underperformance of Paul Pogba could drive United to overspend on Ross Barkley or Paulo Dybala.
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With Mohamed Salah out and Barcelona supposedly readying an astronomical offer for Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool may have to spend that money before they even have it. Manuel Lanzini may be Jurgen Klopp’s top target, which would inflate the price of players coming from relegation-threatened teams.
That brings up the question of Wilfried Zaha. He must have wondered what he needs to do to leave Selhurst Park after watching Luka Milivojevic slow-roll a penalty kick straight to Ederson on Sunday. Zaha is fast, create and absolutely joyous in his play. He will be crucial to Crystal Palace’s survival this season, but will want to advance his own career beyond what Palace can offer. Palace can scarcely afford to lose him in January, but they have also never been offered what a desperate top-six team could offer them in the coming weeks.
The Alexis Sanchez situation is most important for Chelsea. He would be a great acquisition simply on his merits, with the added benefit of denying him to Manchester City. City were already going to be stiff competition for his signature, and now they will have even less restraint and inhibition about what it takes to pry him away from Arsenal.
Chelsea will have to be uncharacteristically alert and decisive in this transfer window. If they hesitate for a moment on a player, his price will go up. If they hesitate for a second moment, he will be posing with a shirt from his new club.
And as much as short-term considerations like the current raft of injuries may propel the January window, the Blues must bear in the mind the long game. City, United and Liverpool may “only” be replacing injured players now. But those new additions will be even more depth and more flexibility once the full complement are back. Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero leading City’s line is bad enough. Pep Guardiola cycling through Sanchez, Aguero and Jesus when all are fit is a nightmare.
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Marina Granovskaia will be almost solely in charge of Chelsea’s transfer window, as the club has not replaced Michael Emenalo. This could help Chelsea move more quickly on players. However, she will have to resolve Eden Hazard’s and Thibaut Courtois’s contracts at the same time. Those remain the highest priorities, but cannot be an excuse for myopia in the market.