In a rare conversation with the media, Chelsea’s leadership team have sat down for an interview to explain the direction of travel for the club after a crazy first week of 2026.
After Enzo Maresca’s out-of-the-blue exit, Chelsea have acted quickly in replacing him with Liam Rosenior.
The Blues can now focus fully on the fixtures ahead, the current January transfer window, and the upcoming summer window as well.
With regards to the latter, the decision-makers at Chelsea have laid out their plans. Some of it is really exciting, but there are elements that are sure to cause concern as well.
Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty ImagesChelsea will go in for an elite attacker this summer
First, the good news.
Chelsea are intent on a high-profile addition to bolster their attack. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given their recent approaches for Antoine Semenyo, Morgan Rogers and Kenan Yildiz.
It could be that Rogers and Yildiz are revisited in the summer, or another opportunity for a world-class talent could arise.
As Danny Windsor reveals on the SPTC Substack: “Chelsea are expected to pursue another elite attacking option this summer, which explains the earlier enquiry for Semenyo before deciding not to proceed.
“The club is also aware that it lacks physicality relative to rivals and will look to address this, without sacrificing technical quality, in upcoming windows.”
That second bit could be a separate point, though the targets we mentioned above would all be considerable additions in that facet of the game as well.
Chelsea could still sign a new attacker after cooling their interest in Antoine Semenyo. Who would you target, or are you content with Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens?
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An obvious area for improvement not certain to be addressed
Now onto the less promising reveal.
Windsor continues: “Centre-back and striker remain areas of monitoring, with pathways also being considered for players already owned by the club, including Josh Acheampong, Mamadou Sarr, Aaron Anselmino, Emanuel Emegha, and Dastan Satpayev.”
Look, Acheampong, Sarr and Anselmino are all promising young defenders who will develop in the seasons to come, but this is a major red flag.
Chelsea have no issues splurging on another wide attacker/number 10, while the most glaring hole in the squad is one to ‘monitor’.
The position that Chelsea MUST strengthen in 2026 is _ _ _ _ _ _
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Last summer, Chelsea missed on an elite central defender and have paid the price this season. Sure, Levi Colwill will be back for Chelsea by the end of the season, but if you ask any fan — or pundit, for that matter — the signing they see as most needed, it’s a world-class centre-back.
The striker position is one to wait on, perhaps, but not centre-back.
Another window of signing wide attackers who may or may not last the distance at Stamford Bridge will surely not be tolerated if they don’t also strengthen defensively.
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