A respected journalist from The Telegraph has shared what “contacts” have told him about Chelsea’s prospects of signing a Premier League star in January.
Enzo Maresca shares Chelsea January transfer updates
The west Londoners have reliably hinted at bringing in a new centre-back this month and were backed to do so long before Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashle passed away due to injury.
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Emery’s side have made their demands clear.
Very reliable Chelsea journalist Simon Phillips reported in early December that signing a new centre-back was the club’s priority this month, with one likely to be brought in first before looking for a new striker and left-back.
Chelsea’s next Premier League games | date |
|---|---|
Bournemouth (home) | January 14 |
Wolves (home) | January 20 |
Manchester City (away) | January 25 |
West Ham United (away) | February 3 |
Brighton (away) | February 14 |
The likes of Fabrizio Romano have also backed Chelsea’s strong interest in re-signing Marc Guehi in January, even if it’s not an easy deal to pull off, leaving head coach En The latest news from Enzo Maresca is quite surprising.
In his recent pre-match press conference, the Italian played down suggestions that his side were in dire need of another centre-back – perhaps in a bid to divert attention and pressure from Chelsea’s transfer chiefs.
“At the moment I think we’re okay” explain Maresca on Chelsea signing another centre-back before January.
“opportunity [for Fofana] Between 12 and 16 weeks, or three months, the season can be over. We would all be happy if he could come back soon. [But] We have Benoit who is coming back, Josh who is doing well, Axel and Levi, both of whom can do a good job in this position. “
Elsewhere, the Chelsea manager has refused to rule out signing new players in January but insists they must have the right quality.
“My message has been clear since we first got here – we will only sign players to improve the players we have and upgrade the squad.” explain Maresca talks January transfer.
“If we sign players just for the sake of signing them, it’s not worth it, so if we do something it’s because we think we’re improving and updating the squad.”
Chelsea are fans of Bournemouth star Ilya Zabbani
Chelsea have been linked with a move for Bournemouth’s Ilya Zabarny in the build-up to the transfer window – and while Maresca says they don’t need a centre-back right now, you could very well make the case The Ukrainians would be an upgrade from their current options.
Instead of defensive pairings Dean Huijsen and Marcos Senesi rotating into the starting eleven, the 22-year-old has been a constant feature in Andoni Illaura’s defence. – Started in all 20 Premier League games and averaged more clearances per game. 90 more than any other Cherry player (who scores).
This led to Bournemouth placing a £50m price tag on him, but according to Matt Lowe of The Telegraph , Chelsea signing Zabarny this month now looks unlikely.
Law spoke on the London is Blue podcast this week (via TBR): “Look, I’ll tell you, my contacts, I’ve thrown names like Zabarny at Bournemouth at them. I’ve been told Chelsea like him but haven’t seen a deal for him this month. Any transaction.
“This Barcelona defender, is it Araujo? I threw him at someone and was told, yes, we’ve looked at him but we won’t do it this month.”
“So I don’t have the exact names on the list, but there seems to be a list.”
Zabarny costs Bournemouth only £23 million Signed from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2023, his value has doubled after two impressive years in England.
