Chelsea transfer briefing: The area they will look to strengthen

The December blues have bitten hard once again at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea's faint title hopes have all but drifted away in recent weeks.

The draw with Arsenal, particularly with 10 men, could have been a landmark performance, but with Moises Caicedo suspended for the next three matches Chelsea have won just once in the league since then, even with Cole Palmer back in the team.

Heading into Tuesday's game at home to Bournemouth, they find themselves a whopping 13 points off leaders Arsenal, and only clinging onto a Champions League place in fifth on goal difference from Manchester United.

With Liverpool resurgent, United lurking and a host of upstarts including Sunderland, Brentford and Crystal Palace ready to pounce, Chelsea may well need to make January count.

Here, our Chelsea expert KIERAN GILL answers everything you need to know about the upcoming transfer window.

1.  What do Chelsea need to do in January?

You could make a case for every department needing an addition, as ludicrous as that sounds, from the defence to the midfield to the attack. But in my opinion, the prime position in which Chelsea are lacking is at No 9. They could do with that killer striker who can take them to the next level.

I like Liam Delap. He’s only 22. He can still prove good value at £30million. But when he was injured, Chelsea’s options up top were to use Joao Pedro, who isn’t overly fond of leading the line, or Marc Guiu, a teenager they allowed to leave on loan in the summer before recalling him as cover, or Tyrique George and Pedro Neto as false nines.

They have already signed Emmanuel Emegha, but he will only be arriving from Strasbourg in the summer. Delap is fit again and he came on as a substitute against Aston Villa. However, his biggest contribution was to be booked for dissent.

It frustrates me as a neutral watching Enzo Maresca's side create multiple chances without the finish following – they should have been at least two goals to the good against Villa by half-time – so I cannot imagine how annoying it is for the fans.

Goals win games, so I would say they need that striker who provides those, but then as I said, that's only my opinion. I’ll cover what Chelsea insiders themselves are thinking in the next questions.

2. Do they have money to spend?

They do. Just last week, Chelsea suddenly entered the race for Antoine Semenyo, the Bournemouth winger who has a £65million release clause.

Then, they suddenly withdrew their interest within 24 hours of declaring it, presumably after learning that he has his heart set on a move to Manchester City.

If nothing else, that told us there is money to spend in January if need be.

However, I’m told this isn’t a window in which Chelsea's hierarchy are keen on going big, and I haven’t heard that stance has changed amid their disappointing run of one win in six in the Premier League.

3. Who are they targeting?

Sorry to disappoint, but I’m told Chelsea aren’t itching to use January for incomings. They ripped up and redid their attack in the summer, which was unusual and brave, but do not believe it is beneficial to make major changes mid-season and have confidence in their current squad.

They will be alert to opportunities – see Semenyo above, and they tried to get his former Bournemouth team-mate Dean Huijsen when his own release clause was there to be activated in the last window, only for Real Madrid to win that race – but they aren’t actively looking at filling specific gaps currently.

Injuries could force them into thinking otherwise, of course, but right now, they reckon their squad is competitive enough to secure this season’s goal of a top-four finish in the Premier League alongside long cup runs. I’m sure we will hear them linked to this and that player on social media. That’s the nature of transfer tittle-tattle nowadays

Chelsea would like to bolster their central midfield, given Romeo Lavia’s injury history with no update yet on his return, but that is more of an area they are focusing on for the summer’s window rather than January.

They have been linked again with James McAtee, now 23 and with Nottingham Forest. Chelsea have been tracking McAtee ever since he was a youngster with Manchester City – I reported that back in August 2024.

4. How have their summer signings fared so far?

Not the best, if we’re being brutally honest. Let’s run through them.

Dario Essugo? He was supposed to be Moises Caicedo’s deputy, but has been injured so we’ve hardly seen a kick out of him.

Liam Delap? Replaced Nicolas Jackson, but has struggled even when not injured.

Joao Pedro? Impressed here and there, but it feels like he’s been overused out of necessity.

Jamie Gittens? Needs to up his attacking output if he is to look worth the same money for which they sold Noni Madueke to Arsenal.

Alejandro Garnacho? Can still prove good value at £40million, but has a habit of getting into good positions and letting himself down, which may sound familiar to Manchester United fans.

Jorrel Hato? He’s young, he’s versatile, he’ll improve, despite the odd disappointing performance, but he's currently injured.

Estevao Willian? He’s exciting, though I can understand why he’s being eased in. He’s looked elite in the odd game and is still working on that consistency as a Brazilian aged 18 in a new country.

5. And who might leave?

Tyrique George is available. Chelsea nearly sold him in the summer until his deadline-day move to Fulham fell through at the 11th hour.

They would like to sell Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, both of whom have spent this season out of their senior squad. Sterling is on a contract worth around £300,000 per week, and I’m told Disasi earns around £100,000, so neither will be the easiest when rival clubs know Chelsea are keen to get them off their books.

Filip Jorgensen wants game time, and Maresca did not exactly close the door on allowing him to leave when asked on his situation last week, but I'm hearing Chelsea aren’t keen on changing up their goalkeeping options mid-season.

Shim Mheuka would like some senior minutes sooner rather than later and that would have to come at a different club.