Chelsea's January transfer window strategy, while sensible, left many scratching their heads.
Nobody expected it to be a busy January for Chelsea in the transfer market considering the billion plus dollars spent to overhaul the squad over the last two-and-a-half years. But after just one significant signing and a handful of departures, Enzo Maresca enters the decisive months of his first season in charge with more questions than answers regarding his squad.
Chelsea fell from second to sixth in the Premier League in a span of six weeks, before a hard-fought 2–1 win against West Ham United saw them climb back to fourth. The win was only Chelsea's second in their last eight league games, with unconvincing performances highlighting the turn of the year.
The issues exposed over the last 45 days had fans calling for reinforcements in the transfer window to help the team return to form in the fight for a Champions League spot next season. These calls went mostly unanswered. The recall of center back Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace to cover the injuries of Benoît Badiashile and Wesley Fofana was Chelsea's only major move of the month. For many, though, more should've been done and the move is also an indictment on the club's decisions during the 2024 summer window.
Chalobah was frozen out by Maresca last summer, stripped of his shirt number and left to look for a move elsewhere in search of playing time. The injuries offer a valid excuse, but Chalobah's return six months later can also be seen as an acknowledgement of questionable squad planning. Axel Disasi, who Maresca opted to keep over Chalobah, was loaned out on deadline day to Aston Villa, who are competing with Chelsea for the Champions League places.
The shining example of Chelsea's questionable squad planning during the summer of 2024 is João Félix. Bought for $56 million and given a seven year contract last summer, Félix started just three league games and was loaned out to AC Milan on transfer deadline day only six months later. The arrival of the Portugal international also halted the growth of Carney Chukwuemeka, who also left on loan to Borussia Dortmund looking to get his career back on track. With their departures, Cole Palmer is Chelsea's only natural attacking midfielder left in the squad
Palmer isn't the only player lacking suitable cover. Chelsea also disregarded the thought of recalling midfielders Andrey Santos—who's shining for Chelsea's sister club, Strasbourg— or Lesley Ogochukwu, to offer an alternative to Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández. Caicedo has played the most minutes of any Chelsea player this season and both him and Fernández have looked fatigued late in games recently. Romeo Lavia's constant injuries and Cesare Casadei's transfer to Torino during the last week of the window made recalling one of their loaned out midfielders seem worthy of consideration.
Chelsea opted not to, instead, they bought 19-year-old French midfielder, Mathis Amougou for a $15.6 million fee. However, reports indicate the plan is for him to get loaned out to Strasbourg in the summer once Santos returns, making it unlikely that he plays a significant role in the remaining 14 Premier League games. An injury to either Caicedo or Fernández could seriously hinder Chelsea with summer signing, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who's played just 133 league minutes this season, currently the only remaining midfield alternative at Maresca's disposal.
