West Ham eye out of favour Chelsea duo in January midfielder search

Chelsea midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are reported to be on West Ham United's January transfer radar.

Until a recent four-game win-less streak set in, the Blues had found their footing under the leadership of Enzo Maresca to return to Champions League contention.

But the Blues boss has achieved that turnaround without using the whole of the bloated squad at his disposal, with a number of players pushed to the fringes.

The Telegraph report that Chukwuemeka and Dewsbury-Hall are two such players to have caught the eye of West Ham as they look for a new midfielder, in addition to targeting a forward.

Chukwuemeka, signed for £20m from Aston Villa in 2022 at a time when Chelsea were seemingly intent on hoovering up as much emerging talent as possible, hasn't featured at all in the Premier League so far this season. The 21-year-old, reportedly valued at £40m, hasn't even made the bench for a league fixture and his only minutes have come in the Carabao Cup and Conference League.

Dewsbury-Hall followed Maresca from Leicester City off the back of a top season in the Championship, only to find the new demands a step too far. He's had some Premier League game time, but is yet to start and similarly often doesn't even make the bench. The 26-year-old is another who has been forced to rely on other less important competitions to get on the pitch.

Cesare Casadei also played under Maresca at Leicester last season, on loan from the Blues, but hasn't been more than a peripheral part of the squad back at Stamford Bridge. Gianluca Di Marzio has revealed that talks between Chelsea and Torino continue, with Casadei on board.

However, Chelsea are asking €20m (£16.6m) and a buy-back clause for the 21-year-old. Torino's best offer so far totals €12m (£9.95m) and a future sell-on clause, with further talks expected this week.

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