It is not too late for Chelsea to find a gem in the Championship

With the window still open between domestic clubs (sort of), Chelsea can still look towards the Championship for a gem of a player.

The Championship is probably less of leap to the Premier League than it used to be. There are some asterisks to that statement, such as the quality of the players surrounding them should they take the jump to a Premier League club. Chelsea has shown that they have that quality.

The transfer ban was supposed to cripple Chelsea, but it really just gave them an excuse to use their youth. Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, and Reece James all came straight from the Championship into the Premier League (and Champions League) side. They made the step up gracefully, though part of that was the quality in the team they entered.

Perhaps that is a lesson for other clubs of Chelsea’s ilk. The Championship has plenty of quality players that, when surrounded by players of a top six caliber, can fit right in. With the window still open for Premier League clubs and the English Football League, it is not too late for Chelsea to start looking for gems to reinforce.

Chelsea truly only has one need in defensive midfield right now, and unfortunately the Championship no longer has anyone to offer for the role. It is such a high need and specialist role that the Blues may have wanted to steer clear of one without Premier League experience anyways.

The Blues are, however, thin on the wing. Frank Lampard does not use wingers in the traditional sense as it is, but only Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, and Callum Hudson-Odoi could be categorized as full time wingers. Players like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, and even Emerson can cover but all but maybe Emerson are better suited elsewhere.

That being said, there is still room to bring a player in to make it a straight one for one rotation. The name spoken loudest on everyone’s lips is Said Benrahma. He was linked to the Blues much earlier in the window and he has been one of the Championships breakout players. When Brentford failed to get promoted, it was assumed that Benrahma would move on. He remains there but with the window open, Brentford are probably sweating over him.

The Championship is full of good winger options like Benrahma, but the majority of the remaining choices come from the clubs that recently dropped down. Ismaila Sarr looked set to move to Manchester United earlier in the window but the move collapsed. Todd Cantwell and David Brooks both opted to stay with their clubs thus far but both could add an option to Chelsea too. Finally, Max Aarons is not a winger but if Emerson sees his future high and wide, the fullback could come into the backline with some slight adjustments on the behalf of Cesar Azpilicueta.

The main thing stopping these moves from having value at the moment is the simple fact that the Champions League roster has already been submitted. That might stop the club or the player themselves from pushing for a move when they know they are “stuck” with domestic football.

Even still, the youngsters of Chelsea showed the step up from the Championship is not nearly as large as previously thought. The Blues do not need to break the bank to bring anyone in, but the Championship does offer plenty if the club is looking for a solid depth option to reinforce things domestically.