Chelsea waste big opportunity to improve what they have

Chelsea did just two permanent transfer deals this winter. Of course, it is always a more difficult window to get deals done, for many reasons. But Chelsea will now make themselves VERY busy this summer because of incompetence and lack of urgency this winter – that is poor form.

I’ve said a few times now that Enzo Maresca wanted a new centre back, midfield cover, and a new striker this window. Chelsea give him a player they already owned, frozen out and treated like crap in the summer, and will still actively try and sell next summer as the new centre back, a 19-year-old with 8 senior league appearances as midfield cover, and completely ignored a new striker for the FIFTH transfer window in a row. Great stuff, lads.

Chelsea did loan out a bunch of players on dry loans, which is basically like putting the dishes on the side but not washing them up. The problem will still be there in the summer, and they will now have a bunch of extra players to sell.

They signed Joao Felix in the summer so they could sell Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid. That was the only reason they signed him. Now they have a £40m problem who they will need to sell in the summer to add to other expensive problems such as Raheem Sterling and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

We have SO many players now out on loan who will want to leave in the summer. We have Christopher Nkunku who wants out and will need to be sold in the summer. But what will happen if they continue to price their players out of moves just like they did in this window? It’s so poor.

We literally took six months to sell Cesare Casadei and that was all over the odd £5m! Penny pinching FC is back! Marc Guiu wanted to go out on loan to play but because we didn’t sign a striker he is forced to stay.

I genuinely believe that we could have put ourselves in a MUCH stronger position this window if we signed just what Maresca asked for, if they were the right profiles. I think this would have been the difference makers.

I don’t want to hear any excuses like ‘there are no options available.’ We’ve heard that for FIVE transfer windows now. You mean to tell me that in five windows there just aren’t the options available? Please, come on now. Maybe it’s just not the ‘opportunities’ – my god I’m sick of hearing that word.

Also, does anyone want to talk about how we rejected a loan move for Axel Disasi because Aston Villa are UCL rivals yet Maresca was out there saying we aren’t challenging for UCL until next season!? OK….

I wasn’t expecting miracles this window because it was January and naturally you don’t see as much business. But don’t tell me we couldn’t have found some smart buys or loan moves to come in and improve what we have right now? Surely they could have found something. I guess that is not what we do anymore.

Whilst we might still luck out and get UCL football this season, this window has been a failure in my eyes. We could have given ourselves a MUCH better chance of getting top four if we signed a couple more players. Yes we moved some players out but only on dry loans and those problems will be back to haunt us this summer.

The reporting was mad too, it went from being very quiet for Chelsea, to being super busy, to them doing basically f**k all!

Onto the summer then, and I am sure they will spend months of that window contemplating, considering, discussing, to then roll over into another window due to a lack of ‘opportunities’. Or as we know it is, lack of trades. Fabrizio Romano is already talking about us signing attackers and midfielders in the summer! HA.