Chelsea are one of the world’s most active clubs in the transfer market, and they could now be set to beat Liverpool and PSG to the signing of a proven Premier League star.
Chelsea left with problems to juggle amid hectic fixture schedule
Winning the Club World Cup was a momentous moment in recent Chelsea history, and particularly for the club’s finances.
BlueCo took home over £80 million worth of prize money after reigning victorious in the States, and this helped them end last summer’s window as one of England’s biggest spenders.
However, if recent developments are anything to go by, the physical output expended by players over what was a very long 2024/2025 season, with the CWC to blame for this, may have created some frustrating consequences for Enzo Maresca.
Cole Palmer is out for six weeks due to a groin problem, meaning the England international now joins Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Levi Colwill as long-term absentees from the line-up.
Offering his honest opinion, former Blues star Pat Nevin believes Chelsea’s pre-season has something to do with the recent absences they are experiencing.
“Chelsea’s pre-season was two games in three days,” Nevin told OLBG.
“It’s bizarre, it’s wrong, it’s impossible. So it’s going to hit them. And that’s going to be Enzo Maresca’s biggest challenge this season. Cole Palmer is the same as everyone, not in terms of quality, but in terms of he’s one of those things called a human being.
“The physicality of what Chelsea players have gone through, it’s going to get to them, and we know it’s going to get them. And it’s not a maybe, it’s a when, not if.”
Either way, there will be opportunities for other Chelsea players to stake their claim in light of Palmer’s absence, including Blues loanee Facundo Buonanotte.
Nevertheless, January will be very important, given it offers a chance for Chelsea to strengthen their lighter areas by recruiting top talent.
Chelsea now frontrunners to sign Morgan Rogers
According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea are now the frontrunners to sign Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers, and could beat rivals Liverpool to capture the England international.
Starting off this term with two assists in his opening ten appearances across all competitions, the 23-year-old is valued at around £80 million, and he is also being closely tracked by Paris Saint-Germain.
Amid a return of 30 goal contributions in 2024/25, Chelsea have identified Rogers as a “key target” moving forward, and they believe internally that he is ‘well-suited to both the intensity of the Premier League and the competitive demands of European football’ present at Stamford Bridge.
Fotmob shows that the Halesowen-born playmaker, previously labelled “excellent” by Thomas Tuchel, has created seven chances and completed seven dribbles in the Premier League this campaign. He is beginning to motor after a slow start to life following a difficult summer where speculation over his future was rife.
Looking to steal a march on their rivals, Chelsea could now be set to tap into his long-term potential by offering a package that reflects his scope to develop into a world-class star.