Viktor Gyokeres transfer, Kudus agreement, Nico Williams deal – Dream Chelsea squad after five January deals
Viktor Gyokeres transfer, Kudus agreement, Nico Williams deal – Dream Chelsea squad after five January deals
Chelsea have enjoyed a solid start to the 2024/25 season so far, but if the Blues were to dip into the January transfer market, who could they sign?
After Chelsea drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the Premier League, the Blues entered the November international break third in the table, four points behind Man City in second and nine behind league leaders Liverpool. It’s been a great start for Enzo Maresca’s side who are also top of the Europa Conference League, with Chelsea having scored 16 goals in three games in the European competition
If Maresca wants to maintain his side’s strong start, the Spaniard may be tempted to add to his already large squad in the upcoming transfer window. So, if Maresca was to make some updates to his squad in January, who could arrive at Stamford Bridge? We simulated the 2025 January transfer window to find out…
Chelsea’s 2025 January transfer window simulated
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2024 editor to give Maresca full control in the 2025 January transfer window, seeing who the Spaniard would want to add to his squad. This is what happened.
Incomings (48million)
Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP) – £48million
With Chelsea already having one of the biggest squads in the league, reinforcements aren’t a necessity in the January transfer window, but in the simulation, Maresca brought a new defender to the club, signing Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande for £48million.
It was a hefty fee paid for the 20-year-old Ivory Coast international, but after his impressive start to the season with Sporting, Maresca viewed him as too good to pass up on. Before signing Diomande, Maresca made a failed attempt to sign Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah, showing that the Spaniard was prioritising a defender in January
Outgoings (£43million including add-ons )
Benoit Badiashile (Lille) – £26million
Mykhailo Mudryk (Paris Saint-Germain) – Six-month loan (£9million fee, £62million option-to-buy)
Ben Chilwell (Manchester United) – Six-month loan (£4.1m fee)
Cesare Casadei (Leicester City) – Six-month loan (£3m fee)
Marc Guiu (Wolves) – Six-month loan (700k fee)
Tyrique George (Luton Town) Six-month loan (200k fee)
Harvey Vale (Gillingham) – Six-month loan
Alex Matos (Wimbledon) – Six-month loan
With one defender arriving, another departed in January, with Benoit Badiashile leaving on a permanent deal. After just two years with the Blues, the Frenchman was sold to Lille for £26million – a little less than what Chelsea paid for him last year.
Maresca also moved on another big name in the simulation, with the Spaniard sending Mykhailo Mudryk on loan to Paris Saint-Germain for a £9million fee. In fact, it seemed that Maresca had lost patience, with a £62million option-to-buy clause included.
Ben Chilwell departed on a six-month loan to Manchester United in search of regular game time, while Cesare Casadei and Marc Guiu also headed out to other Premier League clubs on short-term loans, moving to Leicester City and Wolves respectively.
In the final few days of the transfer window, Tyrique George, Harvey Vale, and Alex Matos were also handed six-month loan deals, with the youngsters moving to the Championship, League One, and League Two respectively.
