What could Chelsea's winter transfer window look like?
The winter transfer window is not ideal for recruitment, but Chelsea have still managed to get deals over the line, including Fernando Torres, Tim Cahill, David Luiz, Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulusic.
Clubs will be gearing up to reinforce their squads, given the uncertainty regarding COVID and the unfulfillment of the vaccines.
With Chelsea still in all competitions, Thomas Tuchel will be eyeing a couple of those trophies. Let's dig right in to see what the 2022 winter transfer window has in store for Chelsea.
1) Let's talk about Chelsea's defence
It's not the ideal situation any club would want to be in. Chelsea have Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva, whose contracts expire at the end of the season. These players are free to sign pre-contracts with other clubs once the winter transfer window is open.
Out of them, Silva's case looks the easiest to solve. The Brazilian has enjoyed his reunion with the boss and wants to play the World Cup in Qatar. So it is a no-brainer that a contract extension is just around the corner.
Thiago Silva contract extension with Chelsea is not in doubt. It’s just about paperworks to be prepared and signed in the coming weeks/months. He’s gonna stay until June 2023. 🔵🇧🇷 #CFC
Still no big chances on Rüdiger situation. No agreement with Chelsea, Real Madrid pushing. https://t.co/2oPkavTS5M
Moving on to Azpilicueta, it looked like the club would have him tied down to a new contract; however, there hasn't been any talks between them since October. Barcelona have shown interest in the Spanish international, but the Chelsea captain prefers to stay at the Bridge.
Two more players of concern are Rudiger and Christensen. While the former seems certain to go, talks with the latter have stalled. Real Madrid believe they can lure the German international to the Bernabeau.
This has led to Attila Szalai and Matthijs de Ligt being brought up as potential replacements.
As per the reports, Attila Szalai to Chelsea was a done deal worth £20m. Turkish media started linking the 23-year-old defender and the Hungry coach, Marco Rossi, added fuel to the fire by saying it was a done deal.
“It’s hard to name just one player but right now I see very well Attila Szalai, who plays for Fenerbahce... I think he is joining Chelsea. Clearly, he has been followed by important clubs in Spain, but apparently his move to Chelsea is a done deal.”
Following the comments of Marco Rossi, Fenerbache released a statement of their own.
“The allegations regarding the transfer of our player Attila Szalai, which have been made public in the last few days, based on foreign press and social media, do not reflect the truth."
“Our club has not made any transfer negotiations regarding our successful football player Attila Szalai."
“Our player continues his work completely concentrating on the goals of our team. We present it to the public.”
Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt's name is a bit of a surprise. The player is on a much higher wage at Juventus than what Rudiger or Christiensen are asking. A deal seems unlikely.