Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has suggested he might need new signings after watching his team go a fourth straight game without a win against Crystal Palace.
The Blues were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park as Jean-Philippe Mateta cancelled out Cole Palmer's early opener to continue a sticky patch of form after back-to-back losses to Ipswich and Fulham.
Maresca has a defensive dilemma on his hands after losing Wesley Fofana - who could be out for the season - while fellow centre-back Benoit Badiashile is also out with a hamstring injury.
The Italian's lack of options at the back saw him call upon youngster Josh Acheampong to partner Levi Colwill in defence and he was pleased with the 18-year-old's composed display.
However, he insisted he still might need to dip into the January market for reinforcements considering Fofana and Badiashile have no return date currently.
He said after the Palace game: "Even if we don’t decide to buy players or sell players because Josh has shown he is good, we already knew Josh was good enough. Probably with Wes and Benoit injuries, we will see if something is going to happen [in the transfer market]."
On Acheampong, he added: "I think for sure, Josh was our best player because of his age, it was his first game. Josh, for me, can be a top player for this club but he needs the right path, the right moment; for young players, you need to decide which moment."
Chelsea spent nearly £200million on signings last summer, including three players capable of playing centre-back, and the Blues may be limited in the deals they can do amid financial fair play regulations.
The club will be desperate to ensure they remain in the race for the Premier League title but are now nine points off leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
After the Palace game, winger Jadon Sancho revealed Maresca had warned the team they needed to be better at killing off games after allowing the Eagles to equalise late on at Selhurst Park.
Maresca said in his press conference: "Between the first-half and second-half, we created enough chances to win the game but in football you need to be clinical otherwise the game is always open. Today, if I had to decide the reason we didn’t win the game, it’s to try to be clinical when you have the chance to kill the game because at 2-0 it’s probably finished.”
jehbdintyz
24
Jackson is our problem