Ivan Toney signs, Cucurella leaves, Maatsen decision – Chelsea’s January transfer plans revealed

Ivan Toney signs, Cucurella leaves, Maatsen decision – Chelsea’s January transfer plans reveale

football.london takes a detailed look at what Chelsea could do when the transfer window opens in January 2024 and what areas of the team the board would like to address

The summer transfer window may have just ended, but people’s curiosity about the next signing never wanes.

Chelsea spent more than £400 million on new signings over the summer – far more than any other Premier League club.

The Blues were tasked with tackling several areas of the team before the window even opened, and with all the departures that followed, replacements had to be found.

This has led to another turbulent and quite extraordinary transfer window under American billionaire Todd Boehly, who – along with Clearlake Capital – has spent over £1 billion on transfer deals since taking over the club from west London last May.

We are now a few months away from another transfer window, but with the international break approaching and there not being too much to talk about in club football, what better way to spend it than waiting until January impatiently? Here, football.london takes a look at what Chelsea may need to tackle as the mid-season window opens…

A new striker

Nicolas Jackson is expected to take part in the African Cup of Nations in January and represent Senegal at the continental tournament.
This leaves Chelsea very tight when it comes to central striker options.

By then, the club hopes Christopher Nkunku will be fit and available, but he may not be in top form after a long period of inactivity due to a knee injury.

Furthermore, Mauricio Pochettino liked to use Nkunku almost as a ‘second striker’ during the matches he played in pre-season, so we don’t really know what the Chelsea manager has in mind for the man the club signed for 52 million pounds in the summer window.

Armando Broja is expected to be able to return to action after the current international break for the first time since last December, so Chelsea are hoping to make him available in January, with Jackson likely to miss out. But the Blues could recruit another center forward during the mid-season transfer window.

football.london understands that adding another central striker in Jackson was on the agenda at Chelsea this summer but was never a priority.

Several options have been explored out the window, including Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, but no official action has been taken.

Ivan Toney is someone who has been interested in Chelsea for some time and when his football ban ends in January, a move for the Brentford striker could be on the cards. However, signing someone who has missed more than half the season due to suspension carries a risk in itself.

More player sales

Chelsea released almost an entire squad of players during the summer transfer window, but there’s still more to come in January.
There are a number of players who came close to leaving over the summer and could still leave mid-season.

Marc Cucurella, for example, at one point seemed ready for a loan to Manchester United.
However, the Red Devils, who were looking for options following injuries to left-back pair Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, had reservations about the Spaniard and opted for Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon instead.

Cucurella is someone Chelsea would be happy to let go of if the right offer was made for him. The club would prefer a permanent move for the former Brighton full-back, who has failed to impress since his expensive signing last summer, but would compromise with a loan deal.

Without Cucurella, the Blues would be willing to release Ian Maatsen, according to football.london.
This was the case this summer when the club wanted one of them to replace Ben Chilwell, who has struggled with injury problems in recent years.

However, Chelsea are trying to tie Maatsen down to a new contract as his current contract expires at the end of the season.
However, we don’t know if it’s because they’ve done an about-face and changed their mind about Maatsen, or if it’s just because they want to protect the Dutchman’s value.

Trevoh Chalobah was also on the verge of a move just before the transfer deadline last week. The Cobham graduate, who is still recovering from injury, was keen to join Bayern Munich as the German champions wanted to take the defender on loan.

However, Chelsea were seeking a permanent deal with Chalobah but demanded up to £50m for his signature.

The signing of Axel Disasi as Wesley Fofana’s serious injury became known all but confirmed for Chalobah that Pochettino did not view the centre-back as a direct replacement for the team.

The club will also be looking to get rid of Malang Sarr, who has flown somewhat under the radar in recent months.

Sarr, who is clearly not part of Pochettino’s plans at Stamford Bridge, was interested in his services from France this summer, but a move for the 24-year-old defender never materialized.