Chelsea keep spending with summer scramble inevitable
As Chelsea continue to splash the cash to try and save their season from further embarrassment – and offer Graham Potter the life raft he so desperately needs – the rest of the Premier League have hit something of a buffer in terms of transfer productivity. Mykhailo Mudryk has arrived at Stamford Bridge for a fee that could rise towards the £90million mark, while Manchester United have brought in the budget signing of Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley.
But what else can we expect in the final couple of weeks of the window? Again, it’s Chelsea dominating the headlines and the gossip columns.
Brighton’s Moises Caicedo – who was once on United’s radar and, in fact, had agreed a move (for a paltry £4.5million to Old Trafford back in 2020 – is now being heavily linked with Chelsea. Everyone is familiar with Todd Boehly’s transfer policy by now and the American owner isn’t happy that his club failed in their pursuit of Argentina World Cup star Enzo Fernandez.
Caicedo is a real talent in midfield and a decent alternative. The 21-year-old starred, albeit briefly, in the World Cup, for Ecuador and has been very solid for Brighton this season. The bookies think he’ll end up at Chelsea, who are 7/4 with many to be the Ecuadorian’s next club. Liverpool are 4/1 to snare him from the south coast club.
United continue to appear regularly in the transfer columns, with Anthony Elanga of genuine interest to Borussia Dortmund on loan, which would be a blow to Frank Lampard who wanted the Swedish forward at Everton. Scott McTominay has also been linked with Newcastle.
In terms of incomings at Old Trafford, Youri Tielemans is the latest midfielder name to do the rounds. He’s been touted as a possible cut-price target from Leicester City this January, although the bookmakers believe Newcastle may be his next club, offering 4/1. Some are giving 2/1 odds for Tielemans to make United next home; others are less convinced at 10/1.
Otherwise, it seems many are braced for a quiet final fortnight in the January window, with Jude Bellingham one of the names that will surely come to the fore when the summer business kicks in. In fact, with Bellingham, Fernandez and Frankie de Jong all on the midfield merry-go-round this summer, it could be a fascinating six months ahead.
As always, United, Chelsea and Liverpool will be in the mix for the cream of the crop, with Arsenal quietly content with their squad given the current look of the Premier League table, and Manchester City rarely involving themselves in the transfer circus – unless it’s for a clutch, Pep Guardiola approved target.
You can never quite rule anything out in the madness of the January window. But, save for Boehly and Chelsea, many of the English elite are keeping their powder dry at the moment. It may only take a couple of defeats in the coming week or so to change that state of zen.
