Mauricio Pochettino wants to reinforce his team in the upcoming winter transfer window, and here are three players Chelsea should target.
Chelsea have spent over £1 billion since Todd Boehly’s takeover last year and despite spending a fortune on reinforcements over the past few windows, results on the pitch have not improved. The Blues are struggling in the Premier League, they are currently 12th with just five wins out of their 16 matches. They have ended up on the losing side on seven occasions.
Post their defeat to Everton last time out, their manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that they need further reinforcement. The Argentine manager wants to rebuild the core of the team, and the Blues are expected to make multiple moves in the winter.
Pochettino clearly mentioned the fact that they are not converting the chances they get during his post-match press conference. He feels they are missing something, which indicates that the Argentine boss wants reinforcement. And the former Tottenham Hotspur manager wants to sign players who are a better fit for his system.
While the Blues are looking to push for potential transfer targets, they will have to ensure they do not breach Financial Fair Play regulations. As a result, we could see a number of players part ways with the club next month. Noni Madueke, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, Marc Cucurella, Axel Disasi, Ian Maatsen, and Malo Gusto are players that the Blues are ready to offload as they seek reinforcement in almost all parts of the pitch
The Hard Tackle present a list of three players that Chelsea should target to resurrect their 2023/24 season under Mauricio Pochettino.
Ivan Toney (ST)
Signing a new striker is by far the biggest priority for Chelsea at this stage. The Blues have struggled in front of goal on multiple occasions this season, and the need for a new number nine is quite clear.
At the start of the season, the Blues were struggling to score goals. While they were playing good football and were creating quite a few chances, things were not happening for them in the final third. Things did improve for a short period of time. But once again, the story is the same.
The Blues are creating chances, but they have not been able to convert them. And the major reason behind it is that they don’t have a proven goalscorer in their ranks. The West London club did sign Nicolas Jackson in the summer to bolster their attack.
The 22-year-old striker has been doing a decent job, but he is not the answer to their problems. Jackson is still a work in progress, and Chelsea need someone who can score goals on a consistent basis. While they have been linked with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, signing him in the winter might be a bit too much to ask for.
"Arsenal, Chelsea & Manchester United are interested" 🧐
Will Ivan Toney be on the move in January? 👀🔴 pic.twitter.com/Gg1SLTIDss
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2023
As a result, Ivan Toney could be an ideal solution to their problems up top. Toney will be back from his ban in mid-January, and the Blues can sign him from Brentford as the England international wants to join a bigger club in the winter.
Chelsea have been linked with him, and they are quite interested in the 27-year-old, who has been on fire in the Premier League. Not only is he a proven goalscorer, he has proven his mettle in the English top flight and can surely fit into the Blues first team with ease.
Toney is proper number nine, and Pochettino will love working with him having achieved a lot of success with Harry Kane during his days at Tottenham. But, acquiring the England international’s services from Brentford won’t be easy. The Bees want around £80–100 million for the services of Toney. But Arsenal as well as Tottenham Hotspur will push them all the way in the race for the Brentford striker’s services.
Federico Dimarco (LB)
Chelsea have three top quality left-backs in their ranks. But they are still not getting the desired output. As a result, Pochettino could look for a new left-sided full-back, and Federico Dimarco could be a great option for the Blues.
The Argentine manager is ready to part ways with Marc Cucurella and Ian Maatsen as he seeks more quality at left-back. The duo has failed to live up to the expectations, and Pochettino wants to bring in a more consistent player. He wants to add a full-back who can be a source of creativity.
The Blues have struggled to create chances and score goals from the middle. While they will certainly look to work on that, Chelsea also want to boost up their flanks. They already have quality wingers and an exceptional right-back in Reece James. But they need a left-back to be even more threatening from the flanks.
Ben Chilwell is a quality left-back, but he has been injury prone of late. The London club want to back him, but they want to ensure they have another top-quality name in their ranks. As a result, they are interested in Dimarco’s services and have been linked with him for a while now.
Chelsea have enquired about the potential transfer of Inter Milan left-back Federico Dimarco, though he is expected to sign a new contract at the San Siro instead.
– @caughtoffside pic.twitter.com/7e6TpJRvEc
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) October 24, 2023
Dimarco is an attacking-minded full-back who had 16 goal contributions last season, playing an integral role in helping Inter Milan reach the Champions League final. He has carried on in a similar fashion and already has seven goal contributions this season.
Dimarco’s arrival will add a lot of creativity, and they will have another source of goals in their ranks. Meanwhile, Pochettino would love to have him in his ranks as he can not only feature as a full-back or a wing-back but can also feature in the heart of the defence. But, in order to acquire his services, they might have to battle it out with Manchester United and Manchester City.
Joao Palhinha (CM)
Palhinha was very close to completing a move to Bayern Munich in the summer, but the move fell off as Fulham could not secure his replacement. Post that, the Cottagers managed to tie him down to a new deal that runs until the summer of 2028, and the club have an option to extend it for another 12 months.
Despite the new deal, the interest in his services remains the same. The German giants are considering returning for his services in the winter. But this time around, there are other English clubs that have been linked with the Portuguese international.
Joao Palhinha’s agents have spoken with Chelsea in a bid to try and secure their Fulham-based client a big move in the coming weeks. (via @TEAMtalk) pic.twitter.com/74xUHVB5AQ
— ChelsTransfer (@ChelsTransfer) December 13, 2023
Chelsea are one of the clubs that could make a move for the 28-year-old defensive midfielder. The Blues already have some high-quality midfielders in their ranks having spent millions on the likes of Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia amongst others.
The Blues do have an all bases covered in midfield but despite that, they have not been able to dictate the pace of the games and control the possession of the ball. And, with Conor Gallagher’s future at the club uncertain, pushing for a new midfielder does make sense.
The Chelsea graduate could leave the club in the near future as the Blues have not been able to tie him down to a new deal. Even after his departure, they will have enough depth in their ranks. But the Argentine manager would still love to have someone like Palhinha in his ranks.
The Portuguese international will bring in a lot of experience and composure to their midfield, something that they do lack at this stage. Each of their defensive as well as central midfielders are 22 or below. They have not been playing at the top level for that long. As a result, the Blues do need experienced heads around to get the best out of these young talents.
The Chelsea boss wants to build a new spine and he feels Palhinha could be an ideal fit for their club. Meanwhile, the agents of the player have reached out to the Blues as they look to secure their client a move to Stamford Bridge. But the Portuguese international is a target for several other bigwigs, including Arsenal.
Even Dimarco and Toney could be a part of the new core that he wants to form. Chelsea have some of the best youngsters from across Europe in their ranks, and the arrival of these three experienced players could inspire those youngsters.
