Chelsea “provided a clue” to January plans with €40m deadline day bid claims journalist | OneFootball

Chelsea’s summer is over, but the sporting structure don’t just put their feet up now. They start looking ahead to January, as do we.

Injuries are already stacking up, and the unexpected is always just around the corner. Everyone wants to stay proactive, but some reactiveness is inevitable. The good news is, after an impressive summer, the Blues are ready to act if needed.

Blues still have cash to make winter tweaks

Fermin Lopez celebrates scoring for Barcelona. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

The Athletic’s Simon Johnson’s look ahead to the next window claims that the Blues are equipped to make moves if they need to:

“There are still funds available for them to do something should they need to,” Johnson wrote.

“Chelsea provided a clue in that regard by lodging a €40m bid for Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez a few days before the deadline and opted not to pursue it. That sum was not spent elsewhere.”

Lopez would have been a nice bonus, but we can see why they didn’t chase the price up.

Chelsea’s most likely January options

So where would we expect a January swoop to come? The most likely spot seems in defence, where we’re a little thin because of Levi Colwill’s season ending injury. However this piece also makes clear that Chelsea would rather not sign another defender (as their actions in the summer proved) because they are reluctant to block the progress of Aaron Anselmino and Mamadou Sarr.

We’re more likely to see them recalled, should things go wrong, than we are to see a new signing.

Previous targets like Marc Guehi and Mike Maignan will also be able to be approached on a pre-contract signing in January, so we could see a push in that direction too. Don’t be surprised to see a return for Fermin, too, if the scouts have really identified him as a big upgrade.