Filtering through the gossip: the players Chelsea really need in the January sales

The papers are very entertaining. Over the last few weeks, not a day has gone by without another back page headline about Chelsea being ready to splash the cash in January either on some La Liga mega-star or a Brazilian wonderkid currently plying his trade in South America.

Last week I wrote an post on how Chelsea had – since the suspension of the transfer ban – been linked with 17 players. Someone posted a comment rightly pointing out that I’d missed the headlines about Pato, and actually the number was 18. Since then the rumours have continued to flow thick and fast, with names like Sergio Ramos, Andrea Pirlo, Lucas Piazon and Romelu Lukaku being linked with a move to the club.

Today an interview with John Terry has prompted more headlines, the Times’ reading ‘John Terry urges Chelsea to splash out on new players in January’. Reading through the article though, it’s clear Terry has ‘urged’ nothing of the sort – at least not explicitly. The Chelsea captain said:

“The suspension is good news as we lose four good players in January anyway. I’m sure the club and the manager are looking into that and having good talks with Roman. I wouldn’t be surprised if we do go out and buy because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the summer or the following summer. The manager has great experience and he knows what we need.”

So even the broadsheets like stirring things up. It’s a little surprising that Chelsea transfer gossip dwarfs that written about Man City, despite the latter being the wealthier club and the only one of the two with a recent record for splashing large sums of cash. For football journalists, Chelsea still represents the greatest opportunity to fill column inches and ultimately sell papers.

Regardless of the realities however, the gossip has certainly got me thinking. Do Chelsea need to sign players and, if so, who? An interesting post over at chelseadaft.org balanced both sides of the argument, but seemed to come down on the side of keeping the squad as it is. I see it differently.

Chelsea do need to strengthen in January – and not because of the African Cup of Nations, which neatly coincides with a run of not unwinnable fixtures in the Premier League. Chelsea’s squad is among the best on the planet, but it needs reinforcing for two reasons – one looking to the future, the other having been an issue since 2007.

On the one hand, the impending transfer ban – which will almost certainly prevent Chelsea signing players until January 2011 at the earliest – poses a problem that the club simply cannot afford to not tackle head on now. It is well documented that Chelsea’s squad is on the old side, and at the moment that doesn’t pose a problem (arguably it’s one of Chelsea’s key strengths). But players like Ballack, Drogba, Carvalho and even Lampard will need to be replaced within the next 2-5 years, and the club should be planning a smooth, gradual transition rather than buying mass replacements in one go. Buying younger players of the highest quality now would help achieve that and give those players the benefit of playing alongside some of the biggest names in the game before shouldering a higher burden of responsibility when they’re ready.

In addition to issues around replenishing the squad, Chelsea has had the same inherent weakness since summer 2007, when Arjen Robben left for Real Madrid. Malouda was brought in but was no substitute for the Dutchman and, with Joe Cole spending most of his time on the injury table, Chelsea have been almost entirely devoid of width, pace, trickery and players prepared and able to take a man on. Looking back to 04/05 and 05/06, it was the presence of either (or both) Robben or Duff that turned an excellent side into arguably the greatest team to have played Premier League football: uncompromising at the back and devastating going forward.

Edging towards the end of 2009, Chelsea still haven’t solved the problem created by Robben’s departure. And, good as the team is, it is still one player short of being a ‘great’ team. On the plus side, it is only one player. The club just needs to find him.

So in answer to the question - do Chelsea need to strengthen in January? – for me it’s a resounding yes. But I’m not talking about wholesale changes. Ancelotti and Roman need to make two or three shrewd purchases that solve the dual problems of a vulnerability to an ageing squad in the face of the transfer window and the lack of a genuinely frightening winger. And the latter need not cost the earth: after all, Robben and Ronaldo only cost £12m a piece.

Carlo, if you are heading into the market in January, my shopping list includes a mere basketful of goods: two 20 year-olds (ish), one striker and one playmaking midfielder, both with excellent prospects and experience in a strong league; and one pacey, tricky winger established at a top tier club. Miss the January sales however and one basket probably won’t be big enough come 2011…

What do you think? Post a comment.

You might also be interested to read:

• Chelsea need to abandon the off the shelf transfer policy

Comments

[JoshH]

Excellent writeup, as usual.

[chelsfan]

you're probably right, but after the last few transfer windows a big part of me thinkgs we need to make a bit of a splash, signal of intent

should buy villa or aguero

[ph0bolus]

Great post couldn't agree more.

Funny about the rumours surrounding Lukaku, because I bought him in FM10 and has been great for me.

[ish]

hamsik for sure in the midfield, he is pure class.
pandev as a striker, he could come relatively cheap, great link up striker.
corchia could be a good buy as a young rightback since i dont think chelsea has a very good one coming through in the academy.

sessegnon could also be a useful buy, getting him would give chelsea options for a straight 442 as well as other possibilities since he is very versatile.

and obviously dzagoev should be tied up sooner then later but not needed till after CL is over.

[Adam B]

Alan Dzagoev from CSKA Moscow.. 19 years old, excellent passer, already has stated Chelsea have been his favorite team and wants to join them, Lampard is one of his favorite players and could learn a lot from him.

[Ranjeesh]

dzagoev and romelu lukaku are must buys and can be easily signed cos chelsea is their favoured destination
aguero will be a valuable addition cos anelka is not a young striker either

[carlo walcott]

i think to strengthen defense line signing sergio ramos will be valuable work for ancelotti