The blockbuster £69m January signing who could win Chelsea the Premier League - if Arsenal don't do deal first
Chelsea could look to bolster their centre-back options after Levi Colwill’s costly ACL injury
Slowly but surely, Chelsea are beginning to blossom into one of the strongest teams in the Premier League under Enzo Maresca, and as this young squad continues to mature, optimism is building in the belief that this can finally be the year that the side make a serious push to win the Premier League title again.
The Blues finished fourth in the table last year, ensuring a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign. Owner Todd Boehly could not have asked for much more from the Stamford Bridge side, as they regained the habit of winning trophies by going on to lift both the Conference League and Club World Cup.
People will question the calibre of both competitions due to Chelsea’s vastly superior squad depth and budget compared to other teams in the Conference League, while there have been critics of the timing of the Club World Cup. with some experts still seeing it as an unnecessary distraction as opposed to an elite competition. But what cannot be denied is that winning silverware breeds confidence and it’s clear to see that this has so far translated perfectly into the league campaign, with Chelsea picking up seven points from a possible nine while notably securing a 5-1 away win against West Ham without talisman Cole Palmer.
The additions of Liam Delap, in-form forward Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato and several other newcomers, mean Chelsea are only adding more exciting talents to an already strong and well-rounded squad, but are they fully equipped at this stage to dethrone big-spending Liverpool?
What Chelsea need to do to compete for the league title
Chelsea conceded 43 goals from 38 league matches last term - giving them the third best defensive record in the division. Plenty of criticism was given to goalkeeper Robert Sanchez throughout various points in the season due to a series of high-profile errors. And while perhaps some of that backlash was warranted, it’s worth also noting that the Spaniard made 95 saves, the 10th highest in the division, while also recording a 73.6% save success rate, which was the joint highest in the league alongside Mark Flekken.
What this demonstrates is that Chelsea were still fairly open at the back at points during last season, and Levi Colwill’s ACL injury looks to have only amplified the need for a top defender to arrive mid-season. As it stands, Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo are the Blues’ chosen centre-back pairing, as Wesley Fofana continues to try and get over his injury nightmares at Stamford Bridge after returning to the squad. It’s fair to say that the Blues don’t yet boast at the defensive solidity that sides like Arsenal and Liverpool have at their disposal.
The £69m January addition that could help fire Chelsea to glory
Chelsea spent around £296m on new signings over the summer but intriguingly managed to generate a positive net spend of around £17.9m in profit after selling numerous big-name assets to clubs in Europe. This, compounded with the funds from the Club World Cup and Conference League triumph, as well as the money coming in from qualifying from the Champions League, leaves Chelsea in a fairly strong position to go out and spend in January if the right deal presents itself.
This has led to reports claiming that Chelsea could join Arsenal in the pursuit of talented Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo. The 23-year-old is currently considered one of the best defenders outside of the big six in English football and has recently catapulted himself into the Brazil setup after a string of top-class performances for Nottingham Forest.
Murillo is a great reader of the game, quick, strong, aggressive and great at playing the ball out from the back and occasionally making runs in the midfield. He’s an important part of the system at Forest under Nuno Espirito Santo after helping the club into the Europa League, but has attracted strong interest from Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Caught Offside claim that Barcelona see him as the perfect successor to Inigo Martínez while the same outlet adds that Arsenal admire the £69m-rated defender as he’s left-footed, which is something the club lack at centre half with only Gabriel being comfortable in that department. However, it could be argued that Murillo would be best suited to Chelsea at this stage as it’s the place where he’s most likely to get regular minutes and provide an upgrade on what they already have. At Arsenal they already have Gabriel, William Saliba, new-signings Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera, with Jurrien Timber and Ben White also being comfortable in the centre-back area when called upon.
It’s worth noting that Murillo made the second most blocks of any player in the league last term, the most clearances of any player, while also winning 66.7% of his aerial duels, which is the joint 13th best in the league.