Chelsea confirmed yesterday that Ben Chilwell was going to have surgery, and would miss the rest of this season.
That has set the transfer rumour mill into action with some ferocity, and leading the way as always is Fabrizio Romano. Before this it looked unlikely that Chelsea were going to sign anyone notable in January, so this really adds some spice to the whole equation.
Romano names all the targets we’ve heard about already – Lucas Digne, Sergino Dest and Nicolas Tagliafico as the outsiders, or loanees Emerson Palmieri or Ian Maatsen as “Plan B.”
We like the idea of recalling a player and developing talent already at the club. But there should also be some caution – there may be clauses that prevent us from recalling those players for whatever reason, and there’s no way Romano necessarily knows about them.
While recalling Maatsen is many people’s favoured option, it may simply not be possible within the terms of the loan.
Emerson