Chelsea transfer roundup 1 January to 9 January 2022

The winter transfer window is finally upon us and the first week has not disappointed any football fans around the world. Several teams around the globe have wasted no time in strengthening their sides. The most notable transfer up until this point has been that of Ferran Torres from Manchester City to Barcelona for a reported fee of £49.5 million. Despite its financial struggles, the Catalonian side has been splashing the cash on players it cannot even register unless and until it sells some of its current players—which could be where Chelsea comes in.

The Spanish side did free up some space in its squad as Philippe Coutinho has joined Aston Villa on loan, linking up with his former teammate Steven Gerrard. Apart from this, Everton has been busy in the market and has already secured two defensive signings, Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson from Dynamo Kyiv and Rangers respectively. On a more related note, the Blues have been struggling with injuries in major positions, so this transfer window can be a major one for the European champions to reinforce their ranks ahead of an important stretch.

Here are some of the Chelsea-related transfer rumours from the first week of the window that might have some legs in the near future:

1. Thomas Tuchel notifies the board of his preferred target

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel seems to have told the Chelsea board what he prefers when it comes to signing a left wingback. After being regularly linked with a host of players, it seems the German tactician wants Emerson to be recalled from his loan spell at Lyon. With the club ravaged with injuries to Ben Chilwell and Reece James, only Marcos Alonso is left as a recognized wingback. In previous interviews, Tuchel mentioned that the club is looking for solutions for Chilwell’s long-term injury. According to Matt Law, the club is unwilling to sign a player permanently because if it does so, there would be five left backs at the club come this summer, which makes no sense at all. He goes on to add that if the club is not successful in bringing Emerson back then a loan with an option to buy is a possibility.

One of the players the Blues were heavily linked with was Everton’s Lucas Digne. The French full back, under the stewardship of new manager Rafa Benitez, has been very mediocre. Reports have said that the player has fallen out with the manager, so much so that the club has decided to sell him. This felt like the perfect situation for Chelsea but the fact that Everton only wanted a permanent sale—be it direct or an obligation—turned out to be the stumbling block.

Now, when it comes to recalling Emerson back from Lyon, this deal is also very tricky in the fact that the Italian international has been a regular for the French side. Further, it has an option to purchase the Italian outright in the summer after his loan ends. There have been reports that Lyon rejected Chelsea’s first approach of recalling Emerson. The Blues are now willing to offer compensation to the French side to recall Emerson. There are no guarantees whether Lyon would let Emerson leave or not, but one thing is for sure: this situation is one to keep an eye on.