Chelsea January transfer window guide: Enzo Maresca has clear top priority with exits likely | OneFootball

Unlikely to be a busy month for the Blues but opportunities could arise

The opening of a transfer window usually means the opening of the chequebook at Chelsea, but January is expected to provide a break with recent tradition.

The Blues are blessed with the deepest squad in the country and though their mammoth season will extend into the summer’s new-look Club World Cup, they already look well placed to cope.

Top priority

Reece James is due to return from his latest hamstring injury in the New Year, but the captain cannot be relied upon to stay fit, having been available for just four Premier League games so far this season.

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Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto are the only other senior full-back options. Cucurella has played a huge amount of football given Spain’s run to win Euro 2024, while Gusto has picked up plenty of niggles over an impressive 18 months at Stamford Bridge.

There are other options, including the versatile Renato Veiga and youngster Josh Acheampong, who has just signed a new contract, but proper full-back cover is needed.

What else they need

Need? Not much. Robert Sanchez still does not convince as the Blues’s No1 but Maresca insists he backs the Spaniard and, in any case, has Filip Jorgensen to turn to if need be.

Nicolas Jackson’s form means the summer’s failed pursuit of a centre-forward need not be revisited mid-season. Indeed, any further incomings should probably depend on either outgoings or the outcome of Mykhailo Mudryk’s doping case.

But this is Chelsea, and needs and wants may prove two different things…

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Possible ins

The dearth of names being linked to Chelsea so close to the window is telling, with rumours usually two-a-penny by this time of the year.

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was suggested as a possible target amid reports he could leave Anfield in search of regular football but the Blues insists they are not ready to move on from Sanchez.

Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremy Frimpong has previously been linked as a potential James replacement but the Dutchman is highly unlikely to move mid-season.

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Possible outs

Ben Chilwell is up for sale again after the club failed to find a buyer in the summer. The England left-back has made only one first-team appearance this season, against Barrow in the Carabao Cup.

Maresca insists Christopher Nkunku will not be sold, despite reports the club’s top scorer is frustrated at his reserve role.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been linked with an immediate loan return to Leicester having struggled to make an impact, with fellow midfield Carney Chukwuemeka another who could be loaned. Harvey Vale is expected to leave the club.