Chelsea's 2025 January transfer wishlist

What a difference 12 months can make.

Chelsea have re-established themselves as a real powerhouse in English football under new manager Enzo Maresca, who continues to brush off talk of a title challenge despite heading into Christmas sitting second in the Premier League table.

The new boss has repeatedly insisted this young Chelsea squad is not yet ready for such a pressurised environment, although whether you actually believe him is up to you.

Nevertheless, there are still a few possible holes in Maresca's group, with the January transfer window providing an opportunity to reinforce and push on for the remainder of the campaign.

Let's take a look at Chelsea's transfer wishlist for January 2025.

Central midfield

In Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, Chelsea have two of the most in-form midfielders in world football. Behind them, Romeo Lavia is doing a great job as well. However, the depth beyond that has left a little to be desired.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall arrived in the summer for £30m but has largely operated as an emergency backup, playing most of his minutes in the Conference League and rarely even making the matchday squad for Premier League games. An exit seems likely, either in January or in the summer.

Putting so much faith in three midfielders as we approach a hectic schedule and Conference League opponents who could require more than the reserves would be a major risk for Maresca, who may want to dip into the transfer market to find some more reliable cover.

Key targets

It's tough to know where Chelsea go here. The Blues are highly unlikely to spend any significant sum of money considering the presence of Caicedo and Fernandez ahead of them, while they may look to keep their focus on youth instead of experience.

Sporting CP's Dario Essugo has emerged as a possible target, while reports have also tipped Chelsea to move for AC Milan's Youssouf Fofana or Atletico Madrid's Pablo Barrios.

Chelsea could look to bring a player back from loan. Andrey Santos is shining over with Strasbourg and perhaps should be given the chance to see out the season in France, while Lesley Ugochukwu will almost certainly see his loan with Southampton terminated unless new Saints boss Ivan Juric pledges to increase his minutes.

Left wing

Chelsea definitely shouldn't need another wide forward, but their plans have been thrown into disarray following Mykhailo Mudryk's failed drugs test. The Ukraine international has been provisionally suspended pending a full investigation which could lead to a ban of up to four years if he is found guilty.

Jadon Sancho continues to start on the left anyway, and Chelsea do have both Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku in theory, but Maresca does not appear to trust either player in this wide role.

Young Tyrique George was recently promoted to the senior team but whether the 18-year-old is ready to be Sancho's immediate deputy is another question.

Key targets

Fans have already begun to dream about Athletic Club's Nico Williams, and reports have also thrown Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane into the mix as he approaches the end of his contract in Bavaria.

In reality, Chelsea are highly unlikely to spend big here - not least while they await the final outcome from the Mudryk case - but a loan move could make real sense.

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford could be available but could only move to Chelsea if the Blues make Sancho's loan permanent in January as clubs are not allowed more than one loanee from the same team. Whether Chelsea would have any interest in pursuing what would be an expensive deal is unclear.

Reports of interest in Borussia Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi refuse to subside and could make sense if Dortmund are, as some have claimed, looking to sell to raise money.

Outgoings

Perhaps the biggest business from Chelsea in January could be finalising the last round of exits from Maresca's squad.

Vice-captain Ben Chilwell, while popular behind the scenes, has been handed just 45 minutes and undoubtedly needs to leave, both for the good of his career and to ease the burden on Chelsea's wage bill.

Carney Chukwuemeka should be loaned, rather than sold, while offers could be entertained for Cesare Casadei amid rumours of interest from Serie A. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu and Christopher Nkunku must all decide whether they are happy as squad players or whether they would like to pursue moves elsewhere.

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