January is here. What do we need in the market?

We shouldn't panic, but plan and act decisively

So here we are in January. The transfer window is open, and the rumour mill will begin. So far the message from Chelsea is we’ll only sign someone if someone leaves or there’s an opportunity to sign someone to come up.

We know the likes of Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ceasare Casadei could all be leaving, as could CB Axel Disasi. But what about incomings?

I do think it's right not to panic. Panic buys never work out. We have to plan what we want to do in January and the summer and act decisively.

The club said last summer was their deadline for finishing the squad, but I never believed that, there’s always areas you can improve, even more so when you hire a manager like Maresca with specific demands. Not to mention rebuilding an entire squad to PL title level is always going to take 3 years or so.

To me there’s at least 3-4 additions we need to make, possibly 5, over the next two windows, plus bringing players back from loan or we already own, like Estevao Willian, Andrey Santos and LCB Aaron Anselmino, who could end up replacing Benoit Badiashile if he is sold.

We need a proven, established CB, a powerhouse ST up front of a different profile to Jackson, a GK good enough to be our regular number one, as well potentially a left winger due to Mudryk’s potential ban, and possibly a new LB to compete with Cucurella.

Firstly, the position I think we need to address in January. CB. Axel Disasi needs to be actively moved on in January. As much as I respect his professionalism he’s not good enough and needs to be sold. There’s plenty of takers by all accounts, and he wants to move - we need to make that happen.

But to replace him, we need a specific profile of CB. It's not just about ability or suitability for how we play, though those two things are very important. We also need a leader, someone vocal, someone who has PL experience and can be an experienced head to play alongside Levi Colwill.

There’s plenty of talented options out there, who we’ve been linked to. Ruben Dias of Manchester City, Tomas Araujo of Benfica, and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace. I’d happily take any of them, all of them would improve us, all of them are top CBs. And although talent wise I’d admit he’s not the best of these three, in January, as of now, I’d probably be looking at Marc Guehi.

Ruben Dias would be the dream but he’s not going to be available in the summer. Araujo has the highest ceiling but doesn’t have the experience or PL knowledge. Like I said, if we signed either, I’d be very happy, I’m not wedded to one option. But the PL experience, Chelsea know how and leadership qualities sway it to Marc Guehi for me.

He has been playing regular PL football for over 3 years now. He’s established in the first choice England team, he played in the England side who made the Euro final. He has strong leadership qualities. He was given the Palace armband in his first season at the club and the permanent captaincy after one season. He’s a leader, a strong character, and of course, is Cobham made. He knows Chelsea, he knows the demands and expectations and probably knows a few of our players too. He’s good for the HG quota, and can play RCB or LCB. Not only that but with our 20% sell on clause, we’d get a reduction in the price. He’s rumoured to be valued at £65m by Palace, meaning we could get him for £52m. We have matching rights, so if another club makes an offer we can match it.

Trevoh Chalobah is on loan at Palace, and we could easily do a deal for Guehi which involves him - even if it's separate deals for PSR purposes, and maybe get more off the fee.

With his PL experience Marc Guehi could come straight into the team without hardly any adaptation period. He’d be an excellent partner for Levi Colwill and help him grow into his position, and provide leadership at the back. He’s been linked with Liverpool by some sources in January but given our position right now and our progress, a move back to his home club could be tempting for him.

So in terms of signings in January, I’d be working on deals to move on Disasi and sign Guehi, maybe with Trevoh Chalobah involved too.

I’d also be looking to bring back Lesley Ugochukwu from his loan at Southampton in midfield, to give us depth and a different, more physical profile. With Romeo Lavia’s injuries we need some more depth in that position.

In terms of the other positions, we can plan for the summer and should get the deals done as quickly as we can. In my view, the ST should be Liam Delap. He’s proven now he’s good enough for Chelsea, he’s thrived under Maresca, the right age profile, and Joe Shields recommends him. I think we should do a deal for him for the summer if possible. With Evan Ferguson available on loan, if we need a ST in January, we could do that loan deal with an option, though an attacker would need to leave.

The GK looks like it could be Caoimhin Kellher from Liverpool or Marcin Bulka from Nice, and I’m happy with either. Again, I’d be trying to get a deal done early. Kellgher is PL proven, he’s won trophies, played in finals and won, and will be available, so my preference of the two would probably be for him - but again, I’d be happy with either, or another option if our scouts can find one. We’ve been linked with Patrick Drogu and Alphonso Davies at LB, and I trust our scouts to find the right player at LW.

These signings, plus potentially the addition of Santos, Anselmino (if he can get a work permit), and Estevao, and the right sales, would make us stronger next season and more capable of challenging for the PL. I still wouldn’t say we’d be quite ready to win it next season down to lack of experience, but certainly, we’d be able to sustain a challenge.

But in terms of January, the signing of Guehi for Disasi, and return of Ugochukwu, would strengthen us in those positions for the remainder of the season. Anselmino has come back in January, but is still recovering from injury, and there are rumours he’d not get a work permit so may need to be loaned, so I’d not be counting on him for now.

The important thing is not to panic, but to plan and move wisely and decisively. We’re already looking at players in the key positions, we now need to make decisions and act.

The Score