Chelsea are reportedly keen to add a centre back before the January transfer window closes to give manager Liam Rosenior more options during a busy spell for the Blues. The Italian\u2019s pleas were ignored as the addition of reinforcements was pushed back until the end of the 2025\u201326 campaign, but the club appear prepared to revise that plan following Rosenior\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
The Telegraph reports that Chelsea are \u201clooking at accelerating a deal\u201d for a central defender and could add another squad member this winter without selling anyone. The same report links the club with Rennes defender J\u00e9r\u00e9my Jacquet and Como\u2019s Jacobo Ram\u00f3n. It adds that Chelsea remain willing to sign another midfielder and a versatile attacker, although strengthening at centre back is the priority.<\/p>\n
Injuries and match fitness issues have increased the urgency. Colwill\u2019s injury has been exacerbated by fitness problems for Wesley Fofana and Beno\u00eet Badiashile. That has forced pairings such as Tosin Adarabioyo and even Josh Acheampong to partner the reliable Trevoh Chalobah in the backline this term.<\/p>\n
Rosenior addressed the possibility of new signings in his prematch press conference ahead of Saturday\u2019s west London derby with Brentford, stressing selectivity. \u201cI think if we do [sign someone], it needs to be the right player,\u201d said Rosenior. \u201cWe need to be patient. I want to assess this group. It\u2019s really, really important to me. I like to give the players I work with a chance to show good surprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have time. We have conversations every day, myself and the board, about potential transfers, both out and in, but at the same time, I need to focus on the players in the building. If I feel it\u2019s the right time or the right player, then we\u2019ll make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fan demonstrations are expected at Stamford Bridge before the Brentford match, with supporters unhappy about the approach of senior leaders. Chelsea\u2019s transfer model, which has seen the club largely sign young players with sell-on value, remains a central grievance. The addition of another young, expensive centre back, particularly without outgoing defenders, could heighten supporter frustration. \u201cClearly, there\u2019s a section of the fans who are not very happy at the moment. Like I said, all I can focus on is my job. My job is focused on the pitch,\u201d Rosenior stated when quizzed about potential demonstrations before the Brentford game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea are reportedly ready to accelerate a central-defender signing, amid injuries and fan unrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190,1163],"tags":[1393,1379,1087],"class_list":["post-5976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-transfers","tag-centre-back","tag-club-structure","tag-coaching-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}