There has been an unexpected turn of events at Chelsea that nobody would have seen coming. And one has to wonder if this is a sign of the club's transfer plans taking a turn after they sacked Enzo Maresca on the first day of the year and replaced him with Liam Rosenior, who was at Strasbourg before this.
So far, there has been nothing when it comes to arrivals. Reports emerged earlier in the day though that the club would look to sign a centre-back this winter, if the right option becomes available.
That is not the end of it though. Chelsea have also announced a transfer that could point towards the club looking to bring in a new number 10 in this window as well.
A Chelsea exit has taken place that was completely unexpected. As reported by the club's official website, Facundo Buonanotte has returned to Brighton & Hove Albion following his loan spell at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea officially announce unexpected January transfer
Buonanotte was not playing much at all for Chelsea. And his next destination was already lined up, as he has already been announced as a loan signing for Leeds United.
Firstly, the signing of Buonanotte in the summer was completely unexpected. The Argentine was not even a starter for Brighton & Hove Albion, and had actually spent the previous season out on loan at Leciester City.
That did not stop Chelsea from making their move, as the club missed out on primary number 10 targets like Xavi Simons and Fermin Lopez. But even in the absence of Cole Palmer, due to constant fitness problems, Buonanotte rarely found himself in the team. It was pretty evident that he was not someone Maresca was keen to give a ton of playing time too.
To be honest, to me, Buonanotte looked like a tidy player when given a chance. Of course, he was not performing at the level of a fully fit Palmer, but he could be a backup option for sure. His exit leaves Chelsea sort of depth in that area, and one has to wonder how they will go about replacing him.