Chelsea could sign Barcelona star as a result of the Traore deal

The winter transfer window has been a quiet one for Chelsea, especially after the high expectations fans had going into the month of January. The Blues have made a number of signings, but none have been brought in to play for Thomas Tuchel’s first team. They kicked off the window by signing Lokomotiv Moscow defender Alsu Abdullina right before the turn of the new year to join Emma Hayes’ Chelsea Women. Further, the club has added Watford centerback Travis Akomeah and Derby County left back Dylan Williams to its books.

As far as the men go, there have been no new additions during this month. This isn’t to say the opportunities haven’t presented themselves though. The Blues have had plenty of chances to bring some fresh faces to Cobham. They’ve ultimately (and obviously) decided against new additions during the first four weeks of January, but there is still time to get a deal or two over the line. One of the potential transfers to keep an eye on is Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona’s transfer activity means Ousmane Dembele to Chelsea is still possible

Dembele’s situation is a difficult one. It’s a case of a player wanting to honor his contract and see out the season with his current club, which is a respectable stance to take. However, the Blaugrana’s leadership wants him gone as soon as possible. This would allow the Spanish giants to free up wages to register any potential incomings. Xavi and the directors are keen to offload him this month if he refuses to sign a new deal, as they see this as not buying into the project.

Things were already tense between the two sides and that’s before the events of Thursday morning. Wolves star Adama Traore has been rumored to be joining Tottenham Hotspur for nearly the entire month, but Fabrizio Romano is now reporting that Barcelona has hijacked the deal. Traore joins the Blaugrana on a loan with an option to buy. He chose to return to his old club in order to play his favored position of a winger, which makes things trickier for Dembele.

It’s important to understand how Chelsea fits into this mess. The Blues are one of the teams being heavily linked with a move for the French winger . . . in the summer. Dembele will be a free agent in a few months’ time, which gives Marina Granovskaia the perfect opportunity to sign a potential superstar for nothing at all. The free transfer would also give the Chelsea hierarchy more wiggle room in terms of wages, which have been an issue between Dembele and Barcelona during their negotiations. The Blues didn’t necessarily plan on Dembele being forced out by his club in January.

There are obvious reasons to worry about any deal involving the 24-year-old. He’s got a lengthy history of injuries, which jokingly makes him the perfect target for Chelsea. On a more serious note though, Dembele’s injury history is concerning. Unavailability has been one of the biggest problems facing the Blues this season as a number of their attackers have missed a significant amount of time. All of that being said, Dembele is a special player when he manages to stay fit. He enjoyed the single-best season of his career at Dortmund under Tuchel and it seems both are key on a reunion at Chelsea. The problem is the Blues don’t seem ready to do the deal right now.

Tuchel is already struggling with unhappy attackers in his team and bringing another player into the dressing room to compete for minutes seems like a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, if Dembele truly is available for pennies on the dollar and Barcelona is committed to selling him immediately, is the opportunity suddenly too good for the Blues to pass up? That depends on the talks that should take place between Petr Cech, Granovskaia and Tuchel before the end of the January transfer window. It’ll be a statement from the club either way. After all, he could be the one to fix Chelsea’s long-term attacking woes if the German manager is able to utilize him similarly to how he did at Dortmund in the Premier League.

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