A respected reporter from The Telegraph has shared what “contacts” have told him about the prospect of Chelsea signing a Premier League star in January.
Enzo Maresca shares January transfer update at Chelsea
The west Londoners have been reliably tipped to bring in a new centre-back this month, and were backed to do so long before Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile succumbed to injury.
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Unai Emery’s side have made their demands clear.
Very reliable Chelsea reporter Simon Phillips reported at the beginning of December that signing a new central defender was the club’s top priority for this month, with the potential addition of a centre-back taking precedent over their chase for a new striker and left-back.
|
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Bournemouth (home) |
January 14 |
|
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home) |
January 20 |
|
Man City (away) |
January 25 |
|
West Ham (away) |
February 3 |
|
Brighton (away) |
February 14 |
The likes of Fabrizio Romano have backed Chelsea’s serious interest in re-signing Marc Guehi in January as well, even if it won’t be an easy deal to pull off, which makes the latest update from manager Enzo Maresca quite surprising.
Speaking in his latest pre-match press conference, the Italian moved to downplay suggestions that his side are in dire need of another centre-half – perhaps looking to divert attention and pressure off Chelsea transfer chiefs.
“At this moment I think we are OK,” said Maresca on Chelsea signing another centre-back before January.
“The timing [for Fofana] is between 12 and 16 weeks, which is three months, and the season could be finished. If he can come back early, we will all be happy. [But] we have Benoit, who is close to being back, we have Josh who is doing well, Axel and Levi who can all do well in the position.”
Furthermore, Chelsea’s head coach refused to rule out a new January signing – but insisted they must be of the right calibre.
“My message is quite clear since we first started here – we will only sign players to improve what we have and upgrade the squad,” said Maresca on January transfers.
“If we sign players just for signing them, it isn’t worth it, so if we do something, it is because we think that we are improving and updating the team.”
Chelsea are fans of Bournemouth star Illia Zabarnyi
In the build-up to the window, Chelsea were reliably linked with a move for Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi – and while Maresca says they’re not in need of a centre-back right now, you could make a very good case that the Ukrainian would be an upgrade on their current options.
Unlike defensive partners Dean Huijsen and Marcos Senesi, who have rotated in and out of the starting eleven, the 22-year-old has been an ever-present in Andoni Iraola’s backline – starting all 20 of their Premier League games and averaging more clearances per 90 than any other Cherries player (WhoScored).
This has resulted in Bournemouth putting a £50 million price tag on his head, but according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law, Chelsea signing Zabarnyi this month isn’t seen as possible right now.
Speaking on the London is Blue podcast this week, Law said (via TBR): “Look, I’ll tell you that my contacts, I’ve thrown names such as Zabarnyi at Bournemouth at them. I’ve been told Chelsea like him, but don’t see a deal being done for him this month.
“The Barcelona defender, is it Araujo? I’ve thrown him at someone and been told, yeah, we’ve looked at him, but don’t see us doing that one this month.
“So I don’t have the names exactly on the list, but there seems to be a list.”
Zabarnyi cost Bournemouth just £23 million to sign from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2023, with his value doubling after an impressive two years in England.
