It has been a year of total success for Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea side, if you don’t remember the FA Cup final that is, you can’t have everything in this world.
But it’s unlikely that many people expected when Chelsea sacked Frank Lampard at the start of 2021 that the Blues would be finishing the year as European champions and one of three main title contenders.
In recent weeks, however, injuries and surging Covid cases have depleted the playing squad and said title charge has faltered somewhat in comparison to Manchester City.
So, it could well be handy for the Blues that the January transfer window is right around the corner after a hectic festive period, and with a disrupted market and plenty of contract disputes around there could be ample opportunities for Marina Granovskaia to work her magic.
Despite the £97.5million arrival of Romelu Lukaku in the summer, the Belgian has perhaps through no fault of his own not been able to deliver what was expected of him this season.
There is still time, but worry clearly resides amongst the Chelsea fanbase as when football.london asked fans earlier this month, 47% think the priority should be a new forward, with 34% wanting the club to secure reinforcements at the back.
There is clearly an expectation that the Blues need to invest significantly, with 46.3% of fans thinking at least two players are what’s needed in January – with 48.6% thinking that will cost Abramovic and co. between £50-100m to adequately improve the side for a title tilt.
Erling Haaland is certainly a name that’s been bounded around in the past, but with the Borussia Dortmund superstar not likely to move until the summer, and with Chelsea’s heavy investment in Lukaku, it seems unlikely he’ll be swapping Germany for England this January.
One name Chelsea fans have been excited about though is their former favourite Eden Hazard, with a return to SW6 potentially on the cards.
Having struggled in Madrid, perhaps a link-up with Belgium teammate Lukaku will help bring the best out of both of them again and Hazard has always been open to a return to sparkle in the famous Blue once more.
Whether or not that deal could happen in January remains to be seen, given Real Madrid’s current injury crisis, but there are sure to be some movements in and out of the Bridge.
You can vote below on who you think Chelsea should keep, loan or sell this window from five likely candidates.
Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below on who you think can be the difference-maker for Chelsea via a January move.