Chelsea transfer chiefs are believed to be making some recruitment plans ahead of 2026, amid reports that Enzo Maresca personally wants to strengthen certain weak areas of his squad.
Chelsea's transfer plans for January amid Enzo Maresca "tension"
Reports in the build up to their dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool last weekend claimed that Maresca is unhappy with his current options at Chelsea, and there’s been some tension between the Italian and Chelsea’s hierarchy.
This has apparently been made worse by Chelsea’s summer window, despite finishing the transfer market as the Premier League’s second-biggest spenders behind English champions Liverpool.
Liverpool
£415,000,000
£187,000,000
£228,000,000
Chelsea
£285,000,000
£288,000,000
-£3,000,000
Arsenal
£255,000,000
£9,000,000
£246,000,000
Newcastle
£250,000,000
£152,000,000
£98,000,000
Man Utd
£216,000,000
£68,000,000
£148,000,000
Nottm Forest
£205,000,000
£107,000,000
£98,000,000
Tottenham
£181,000,000
£36,000,000
£145,000,000
Sunderland
£162,000,000
£44,000,000
£118,000,000
Man City
£152,000,000
£53,000,000
£99,000,000
West Ham
£124,000,000
£55,000,000
£69,000,000
via BBC
Maresca’s alleged discontent could stem from Chelsea’s lack of centre-back signings, which they’ve definitely paid for so far this season, with Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill all forced to miss Liverpool through injury or suspension.
Maresca publicly suggested that he wanted another centre-back at Chelsea before deadline day on September 1, but despite internal talks after Colwill’s ACL problem, and trying for Dean Huijsen in May, they couldn’t get one over the line.
Chelsea now want to sign a new defender as a priority for the January window instead, and some media sources report they could even bring in another striker despite completing deals for Liam Delap and Joao Pedro in the summer.
The latter is viewed more as a 10 than a number nine, while Delap is out injured and will take some time to get back up to speed once he returns from a hamstring problem — which has prompted Chelsea to consider another centre-forward (Simon Phillips).
Any new striker would likely be a cheap option, brought in on loan or a player who’s already owned by BlueCo (Simon Phillips), and you can make a case that Juventus star Dušan Vlahović could fall into the ‘bargain’ category.
Chelsea offered Dušan Vlahović as talks held with representatives
The Serbia international is out of contract at the end of this season, meaning Juve could be tempted into selling him for a cheap fee in January as opposed to losing Vlahovic for nothing next summer.
Vlahovic, who’s bagged four goals in eight appearances so far this season, is already planning for life after Turin, with his representatives speaking to a host of sides ahead of his looming exit.
That is according to TBR Football and journalist Graeme Bailey, who report that Chelsea have been offered Vlahovic as the Blues hold talks with his camp.
“Once again his people are touching base with potential landing spots – Chelsea and Tottenham have been spoken to by intermediaries,” Bailey said.
“Much will depend on whether he wants a ‘pay day’ – he won’t get that in England.
“He would get major money obviously, but nothing compared to what he could earn in Saudi Arabia – he would only get more than his current salary at Juventus if he moved to the Middle East.
“But Vlahovic is just 25. Whilst doing well at Juventus, he hasn’t blown anyone away and you get the feeling he has unfinished business at this point of his career.”
The 25-year-old, called a “real superstar” by members of the media during his Fiorentina days, earns a whopping £370,000-per-week at Juve, and any Chelsea terms near that amount would shatter their wage structure.
Unless Vlahovic takes a dramatic pay cut, Saudi looks like the best bet for him. That being said, Stamford Bridge could be an excellent move for Vlahovic’s career prospects.
His ability to score with both feet and dominate aerial duels would seriously complement Chelsea, offering a reliable focal point for Maresca’s attack. Additionally, Vlahovic’s top European experience shows he can handle pressure and deliver in big moments, having scored 11 goals across his Europa League and Champions League cameos since 2021/2022.
At Chelsea, he’d have the platform and service to flourish even more — feeding off Maresca’s plethora of creative wingers and midfielders to potentially devastating effect.
