Maresca rues HUGE transfer blunder as Chelsea spiral into disarray

Cameron Smith

Updated: 9 Feb 2025 15:12 CST
4 min read

In early December, Enzo Maresca could do no wrong and Chelsea were flying. Two months later, things look far bleaker in west London.

A run of seven consecutive wins was ended with a 0-0 draw against Everton on 22 December and Chelsea have looked a shadow of their former self ever since.

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The Blues have only picked up three victories from their last 10 matches in all competitions (vs Morecambe, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United) and they were dumped out of the FA Cup on Saturday night following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

As a result, Chelsea’s long wait for a domestic trophy will extend into the 2025-26 campaign, with their last triumph in an English competition coming against Manchester United in the FA Cup final back in 2018.

Of course, Thomas Tuchel guided the club to Champions League glory in 2021, but things have spiralled into disarray under Clearlake Capital.

Two months ago, the mood around Stamford Bridge was joyous and fans were eager to bellow jubilant chants of “we’ve got our Chelsea back” amid the imperious nature of Maresca’s men.

However, the club’s downturn in form, and their shocking January transfer window, has resulted in a major atmosphere switch.

After months of progression, Chelsea appear to be back to square one and the positive start to Maresca’s tenure has almost been completely undone.

They remain fourth in the Premier League table and securing Champions League football is still a possibility, but the Blues must act quickly to alter the current perception amongst fans.

Chelsea rue January transfer mistake

Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu both suffered injuries during the win over West Ham on Monday evening, which prompted Maresca to deploy Christopher Nkunku in a centre forward role against Brighton.

The France international has regularly been used in this position in 2024-25, due to immense competition for places, but he was out of his depth versus Fabian Hurzeler’s side and Chelsea sorely missed the aforementioned Jackson - despite his patchy form in front of goal.

Nkunku was anonymous at the AMEX Stadium and although centre forward isn’t his preferred position, Chelsea’s attack was stunted due to his ineffectiveness through the middle.

Current ETV

Christopher Nkunku

F (C), M (CL)

Chelsea

Christopher Nkunku

F (C), M (CL)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€53.4M - €65.3M

With Guiu set to be sidelined for several weeks, if not months, and Jackson also on the sidelines, Chelsea’s failure to sign a striker in January has already come back to bite them.

The Blues have needed a reliable centre forward since Diego Costa’s departure and although Jackson has shown immense promise, he isn’t a natural goalscorer.

His all-round game is extremely impressive and he is a hugely useful asset, but Chelsea would benefit from also having a more consistent goal threat in their first-team squad.

The club were unable to finalise an agreement for Victor Osimhen in 2024 and while they could reignite their pursuit of the Nigeria star later this year, their decision to wait until the summer for a new striker already appears to be a poor one.

© IMAGO - Chelsea wanted to sign Victor Osimhen last summer

Chelsea face an uphill battle to save their season and the failure to land a new striker during the January transfer window threatens to derail Maresca’s first campaign even further.

Another year of mediocrity could therefore beckon, despite the Italian’s sublime start at Stamford Bridge.