The end of the January transfer window is now in sight.
There is now just three days to go until the window slams shut, denying clubs in England any further opportunities to bolster their squads until the summer window opens ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
Whilst several clubs in the Premier League will be looking to add fresh blood to their ranks before the bell, Chelsea are unlikely to be one of them, despite Thomas Tuchel only being installed as the club’s new head coach earlier this week.
Last summer, the Blues, who face Burnley in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday lunchtime, spent more than £220million on seven new additions, including the big-money arrivals of Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Asked if he would look to add any new faces to the squad before Monday’s deadline, Tuchel, at his official unveiling as Chelsea boss on Thursday, said: “No, [no gaps to fill] but it is hard for me to judge right now. I am very happy with what I have seen so far.
“N’Golo Kante came back today so we have 22 players and the goalkeeper.”
With that in mind, unless anything drastic changes between now and the window closing on Monday evening, it is set to be a quiet ending to the window for the Blues, certainly in terms of incomings.
However, once the summer window arrives, it could be all hands to the pump once again for the Blues, as they will be more than likely be looking to launch a fresh assault on the Premier League title, with this season’s attempt having faltered in recent weeks.
If Chelsea are to make a fresh attempt to get themselves amongst the runners and riders for the title next season, they are going to have to strengthen the squad in places, particularly in a defensive sense.
Although the club appeared to have solved their defensive woes in the early stages of this season, errors have become more and more apparent in the last few weeks, despite Thiago Silva being on hand to offer no shortage of experience.
The summer transfer window is still several months away from opening but a whole host of names are already being linked with moves to Stamford Bridge, including RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and David Alaba of Bayern Munich.
Upamecano, who is considered as one of the very best upcoming defenders in Europe, has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in recent months, as well as other Premier League clubs. The Frenchman is set to make a decision on his future at the end of this season, meaning he will almost certainly leave the German club in the summer.
According to Goal, there is no clear frontrunner for his signature at this moment in time, meaning it remains anybody’s guess where he could end up.
Upamecano, though, is not the only defender to be amongst Chelsea’s targets, with Alaba also an option. The Austrian is out-of-contract at Bayern this summer and is not prepared to sign a new deal.
Chelsea are amongst several clubs to have expressed an interest in Alaba over the last few months but they are now poised to increase their interest further following Tuchel’s arrival, with the German said to be a “big fan” of his talents.
The final signing Tuchel could look to seal during the summer is that of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. It was reported by the Italian media towards the end of December that Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea boss, was keen on signing him, with Tuchel now set to extend the club’s interest.
According to reports, Haaland remains on Chelsea’s wish list, although several clubs from across Europe are highly likely to challenge the Blues for his signature.
Haaland has a £68million release clause in his contract, but that does not become active until 2022, meaning any interested party would be forced to pay a much, much higher fee if they were to try and land his signature this forthcoming summer.
But if Roman Abramovich – the Chelsea owner – is willing to back Tuchel, just as he did Lampard last summer, the addition of Haaland could go a long way to helping the German secure Chelsea a Premier League title.
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