Chelsea already have two summer signings secured as another Arsenal transfer battle awaits

1 Feb 2023
Chelsea transfer news

Few truly believed Chelsea could pull it off. Not in January at least. A squad overhaul? That is work for the summer when the transfer window is open for two-and-a-half months, not just 31 days.

Yet co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have proved during their short tenure at Stamford Bridge that they are unafraid of a challenge. So a spending spree unlike anything ever seen in the winter window was undertaken, with the final outlay above the £300million mark.

Deals for Gabriel Slonina and David Datro Fofana were done early while Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos was also recruited. Benoit Badiashile then arrived from Monaco to shore up a creaking defence. Joao Felix joined on loan from Atletico Madrid. Mykhailo Mudryk was convinced to sign and spurn interest from Arsenal in the process.

READ MORE: Chelsea complete record-breaking £106.7m Enzo Fernandez transfer from Benfica

Noni Madueke came next from PSV Eindhoven but the biggest deal of the window – and in Chelsea's history – was kept until last. It was late on transfer deadline day that Chelsea agreed a deal with Benfica for Enzo Fernandez worth £106.7million. The formalities were concluded swiftly and the 22-year-old is expected to arrive in England today.

Such largess in the transfer market wasn't balanced off via player sales either. The only major departure from Graham Potter's first-team squad was that of Jorginho. The Italian, who had just five months remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, signed with Arsenal in a deal that could reach £12million.

Hakim Ziyech was expected to depart and had agreed a loan switch to French giants Paris Saint-Germain. However, the deal did not go through due to issues with the paperwork not being submitted correctly by Chelsea. The Morocco international will have to return to Cobham this week if appeals from the French club to the LFP are unsuccessful.

The task for Potter in the weeks ahead is to keep every member of his squad happy. Competition is healthy but very few players are truly content sitting on the sidelines – and even fewer are happy to watch matches from the stands week in, week out.

It's why a big focus of the summer transfer window for Chelsea will be to move certain players on. That won't be a simple task – potential buyers will not be willing to do the Blues any favours – but only with departures can the refresh continue at pace.

football.london has been told that goalkeeper is an area Chelsea would like to strengthen. Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga have both held the No.1 spot this term but neither has truly convinced. There is interest in Brentford's David Raya, who will only have 12 months remaining on his contract come the summer.

There is an expectation that Levi Colwill, who was in fine form with Brighton prior to suffering an injury last month, will be integrated into the first team and that could result in Chelsea being open to a departure for Kalidou Koulibaly, who has struggled to adapt to the English game following his arrival from Napoli. January addition Malo Gusto will also arrive after finishing off a loan spell with Lyon.

Midfield will again be a key focus – and that is despite the arrival of Fernandez. Moises Caicedo is expected to be on the club's radar once more while football.london understands Declan Rice remains a key target for Chelsea despite Arsenal working hard to try to lure him to the Emirates Stadium. The Blues will also push to tie Mason Mount down to a new long-term contract.

A deal to bring in Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig is already in place and the Frenchman will be a key figure in the Chelsea attack. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to be allowed to depart given he has struggled for regular game time under Potter.

READ NEXT:

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Enzo Fernandez deal, Mudryk starts: Potter's dream Chelsea XI after £105m deadline day transfer

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