“In January…” – Romano’s words about Chelsea transfer plans take on new light after recent draw

There’s been plenty of talk in the last few days about a potential increase in Chelsea interest in changing things up in January, especially up front.

Yesterday’s game against Everton saw Enzo Maresca’s team rather run out of ideas, and there were more than a few fans wishing there was a potent plan B on the bench. Predictably, links to Victor Osimhen have bubbled up in the hours since.

But it’s probably important to look back at what top transfer insider Fabrizio Romano said just a couple of months ago:

“In January, I don’t think it’s guaranteed. In this moment, Chelsea are very happy with what they see, very happy also with the balance they see in the dressing room, also in terms of relationships, then the performances on the pitch have been excellent so far. So in this moment, Chelsea are not desperate to bring in a new striker in January.”

Chelsea strategy likely to stay the same despite improving fortunes

What’s changed since then? Well, more games have passed with Nkunku not getting a look in, for one. Also, our continued success means we are actually right in the title race now, and a short term gamble on an immediate upgrade is probably more tempting if it might get us over the line for a trophy this year.

But has the overall message changed? Probably not. Nkunku may well want to leave, but in the interests of keeping things harmonious, it’s hard to see the sporting structure allow that before the summer. And even then, it will be fully dependent on them getting an offer they like.

As has been pointed out before, they likely feel that they had almost a year without Nkunku while he was injured. Now Nkunku may have to return the favour and put up with being a B team player for a while.