It wasn’t all that long ago when Chelsea winger Noni Madueke was acting nonchalant, dismissing title race questions by suggesting he didn’t even know what it was.
The incessant queries surrounding the Blues’ hopes of winning the Premier League doubtlessly grew tiresome, but those are days supporters wish had permeated into 2025.
A 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday means Enzo Maresca’s side have won just one of their previous seven league outings. They’re down to sixth in the table and barely on track to build upon Mauricio Pochettino’s indifferent sole season at the club.
The Blues, protagonists of recent transfer windows, have so far resisted splashing the cash in a bid to upgrade on an already bloated squad. However, their demise over the past month has exposed poor squad building, with superior personnel required to get Maresca’s side back on track.
Here are four issues Chelsea will be wanting to resolve before the deadline.
Pochettino ditched Robert Sanchez in favour of Djordje Petrovic last season, but Maresca was quick to place his faith in the Spaniard after succeeding the Argentine.
Sanchez has functioned as Chelsea’s number one this term, with the bulk of Filip Jorgensen’s starts arriving in the cup competitions having joined the club from Villarreal in the summer.
The former Brighton goalkeeper has produced a couple of excellent performances between the sticks, but he’s never too far away from an egregious error. According to Sky Sports, Sanchez has made a joint-Premier League high five errors leading to goals this season, with his equal in that regard, Ipswich’s Arijanet Muric, losing his number-one status to Christian Walton at Portman Road.
While Maresca suggested there won’t be any drastic changes between the sticks despite Sanchez’s ghastly showing at the Etihad, the Italian admitted his goalkeeper is playing “far, far, far” from the desired level.
It’s clear that the Spaniard is no Premier League number one, but Jorgensen hasn’t yet indicated he’d be a distinct upgrade. Perhaps an external addition is required.
After joining the club in the summer, Chelsea have opted to loan Renato Veiga to Juventus for the remainder of the season. There’s no option or obligation to purchase outright, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the traders at Clearlake move the former Basel defender on permanently in the summer.
Veiga is an interesting profile who’s offered some value in the cup competitions, but Maresca hasn’t trusted him in the Premier League. Marc Cucurella has started 19 of Chelsea’s 23 league games, with Veiga racking up a mere 181 minutes in the competition.
With Ben Chilwell off the grid under Maresca’s watch, the Blues suddenly have a dearth of options at left-back. Unless Chilwell suddenly works his way into the manager’s thinking, first-choice central defender Levi Colwill will operate as Cucurella’s understudy.
Chelsea would be leaving themselves short at the position by not acquiring a Veiga replacement.
Given the sheer number of players that have joined the club over the past few years, it’s remarkable that Chelsea are bereft of depth at a couple of positions.
Midfield was a distinct position of strength during their pre-Christmas pomp, but Romeo Lavia’s persistent injury concerns mean Maresca’s preferred options have been run into the ground. No Chelsea player has played more Premier League minutes this season than Moises Caicedo (2,035).
The boss has insisted he doesn’t require midfield reinforcements, but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei – Chelsea’s current depth options – could all leave the club before the deadline.
With Lavia poised for weeks on the sidelines due to a muscle injury, the Blues surely can’t allow all of their midfield options in reserve to move on. However, it’s clear that Maresca doesn’t trust those mentioned to perform in the Premier League – not even old Leicester pal Dewsbury-Hall.
It’s hard to work out what exactly Alejandro Garnacho would bring to this Chelsea team that they haven’t already got. He’s a more willing shooter than Maresca’s current wide options, but is he a player the Blues should be shelling out £60m for given their needs elsewhere?
If they’re to bolster their frontline, they must focus on acquiring a ruthless goal-getter. When we think of the very best Chelsea teams of contemporary times, they were led by a do-it-all forward with a clinical touch. Think Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. Good luck signing a player of that ilk during the final few days of the window, but Nicolas Jackson is starting to show that he perhaps shouldn’t be the club’s leading man.
Jackson scored 14 Premier League goals last season but underperformed his expected goals haul by 4.6 – per FBRef. The promise shown last term was built on during the first half of 2024/25, but the former Villarreal striker is in the midst of a drought he rarely looks like escaping. He hasn’t scored in eight games.
The 23-year-old shouldn’t be given up on entirely, but Chelsea must consider cutting their losses with the unhappy Christopher Nkunku and acquiring a reliable goal-getter to reduce the burden on Jackson.
