It’s fair to say that Chelsea aren’t shy of being active in the transfer window, although some of their recruitment in recent years has been criticised by fans of other clubs, with the Blues having a significant amount of players on their books.
There’s no doubt that Chelsea are heading in the right direction under the watchful eye of Enzo Maresca, who has guided them into the top-four of the Premier League table. They’re priced at ⅖ on bet365 to finish in the top-four of the Premier League this term, which certainly seems an achievable target for the London-based side.
We’ve seen the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson playing a key role in Chelsea’s strong start to the 2024/25 league campaign, and they’ll be heavily relied upon heading into future months of the season. However, with players in such good form, it isn’t too surprising to see Maresca not making a considerable amount of changes to his starting XI, which has resulted in some players struggling for consistent game time.
We’ll take a look at three players that Chelsea should be looking at moving on in January.
Cesare Casadei
Casadei signed for Chelsea back in 2022, having previously been with Italian giants, Inter Milan. The 21-year-old has been a regular for the Italian youth teams, and is now featuring regularly for the Italy Under-21s. The midfielder has shown his quality out on loan with Reading whilst they were in the Championship, before featuring for Leicester City in their promotion-winning league campaign last season.
The midfielder is clearly rated by Enzo Maresca, as we’ve seen him featuring mainly during Chelsea’s Europa Conference League campaign this season, although he was sent-off for a second bookable offence in Chelsea’s recent win over German side, Heidenheim. Casadei has found regular game time in the Premier League difficult to find, which isn’t at all surprising given the strength in depth that Chelsea have in their midfield. A loan move could be the ideal move for all parties involved in January, as Casadei is good enough to be playing regular Premier League football, and he could return to Stamford Bridge and make a serious push for a starting spot in Chelsea’s midfield.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Dewsbury-Hall signed from Leicester City in the summer, but is yet to make a Premier League start for Chelsea, which has seen some fans calling for him to potentially move on in the January transfer window. The Blues have a considerable amount of options in their squad, particularly in the centre of midfield, and it doesn’t make too much sense to be keeping players on relatively high wages at the club when they’re not playing. Even if Chelsea were to look for a loan move for Dewsbury-Hall, it’s a move that would make sense, especially if he continues to be frozen out of the starting XI in league matches this term.
Carney Chukwuemeka
Chukwuemeka has been on Chelsea’s books since 2022, having made his breakthrough in senior football with Aston Villa.
The midfielder is yet to make a league appearance for Chelsea so far this season, and has been restricted to just three substitute appearances in the club’s Europa Conference League campaign to date. At the age of 22, you’d like to think that he’s got his best years ahead of him in senior football, and a loan move could be the best option for all parties involved.
He’s reportedly been offered out to Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers on a permanent basis, so it’ll be interesting to see if that results in a formal offer from either club in the January transfer window.
