Enzo shares honest view on transfer window as Chelsea lose 2 forwards to injury

Enzo Maresca insists he has ‘no regrets’ about Chelsea failing to seal a deal for a new striker.

The West London side had a relatively quiet winter window by their recent standards. The Blues only made one permanent signing in the form of 19-year-old Mathis Amougou from Saint-Etienne.

He is expected to train alongside the Chelsea first-team over the coming months before joining sister club Strasbourg on loan next term. One position that Chelsea did want to strengthen is at striker.

They were linked with moves for Marcus Rashford and Mathys Tel only to see the pair move to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich respectively. And since then, Chelsea’s need for a forward has only grown after injuries to Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson.

But Maresca insists he has no qualms about the club not signing a new forward and is determined to guide the club through their current injury crisis. Speaking in a press conference, he said he had "no regrets" about the window before adding: "I said after the West Ham game that the things that we planned in terms of players that had the desire to leave and the players that we need.

"In the end, I think we did all of the things we needed. Before the last game, we had two strikers, Nico and Marc. Sometimes we adapt also Christo [Nkunku] there, but in case both of them are out, we are going to find a different solution."

Chelsea’s attacking woes could potentially have been even worse had Nkunku left the club. The Frenchman was linked with both Bayern Munich and Manchester United but ended up staying at Old Trafford.

Asked if he could be in line for more opportunities, Maresca replied: "Yes, for sure, for sure. I spoke already last week about Christo. Against West Ham, he played already more or less half an hour. From now on, he can hopefully get some more minutes and help us."

Probed further if he wanted to keep Nkunku at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea boss added: "Absolutely. I was with the club and we were sure before the transfer window that Christo was one of the players that our intention was to keep him."

Nkunku joined Chelsea from German side RB Leipzig in 2023 but he scored just three goals across what was an injury-hit debut campaign. He has enjoyed a lot better fortune this term with 13 goals in 30 appearances, albeit the majority of those strikes have come in the Europa Conference League.