Maresca’s HONEST assessment of Chelsea transfer window after striker SURPRISE

Robin Bairner

7 Feb 2025 11:31 GMT
3 min read

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has issued an honest assessment of the club’s transfer window, which saw the Blues surprisingly miss out on the striker they had been widely expected to sign.

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Chelsea had a relatively subdued January in which their only major signing was Saint-Etienne midfielder Mathis Amougou, who arrived in a €15 million deal.

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In addition, Aaron Anselmo and Trevoh Chalobah were recalled from loan deals but ultimately there was little movement in Maresca’s squad.

A No.9 had been expected to come in to challenge Nicolas Jackson up front, but no deal ever appeared particularly close. In the summer, Chelsea had pushed hard to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli, yet there was no such saga this winter, despite the Senegal international hitting a cold spell that has coincided with a more difficult period for his club.

Maresca is unflustered by this lack of action, however.

"The things that we planned, we did everything in terms of players that deserved to leave and players that we need. At the end, I think we did all the things that we need," he told the media.

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© IMAGO - Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is happy with the transfer window

Joao Felix’s Chelsea exit: Truth revealed

One of the biggest headlines of Chelsea’s January was the decision to loan Joao Felix out to AC Milan.

Although the Serie A club do not have a purchase option, Fabrizio Romano says they are still hopeful of brokering a deal with the Portugal international.

Current ETV

João Félix

F (L)

Milan

João Félix

F (L)

Milan

ETV Range

€33.4M - €40.8M

Maresca has said the deal was decided without acrimony towards the 25-year-old.

"Nothing happened. Players train every day and want to play all the games. But only 11 can play. We decided together that it was a good option for him to leave. He never complained," the Italian said.

Chelsea face Brighton in the FA Cup on Saturday, after which it will be interesting to see if Maresca still has the same opinion of the club’s transfer dealings.