Chelsea backed to accept offers to pave way for ‘new signings’
Chelsea should prioritise offloading players before signing any new stars to their large squad in the January window.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who has exclusively told Football Insider his verdict on Chelsea amid their pursuit of Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet.
Chelsea have spent heavily since BlueCo’s takeover in 2022, and their transfer strategy has been questioned.
It was a busy summer transfer window at Chelsea in 2025, and the club are targeting Jacquet despite currently having eight centre-backs on their books.
No ‘strong rumours of outgoings’ at Chelsea
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley thinks a player could depart Chelsea if Jacquet signs for the club.
“Look, I think, whatever the model is there, you know, eight centre backs is a lot. So they’re going to have to find some way to accommodate all of those players,” Plumley said.
“And I mean, in terms of keeping them happy, because they can’t all play every single week. So you would anticipate that if they are looking to bring somebody in, then that potentially means one has to move on.
“As I said with Chelsea, you just don’t know, because then what it could also cost you to do is sign this player and not shift anybody on, because we know the squad is big anyway. But, yeah, I think logically, at some point, you’ve got to move players on as much as you’ve got to bring players in because, you know, they’ve got an awful lot of players on their books still.
“They can’t all play week in week out. What they might look to do, which a lot of clubs are doing, and particularly in January as well, is you might move a couple out on loan potentially with obligations to buy. You’re not necessarily getting rid of that player fully at the moment, but there’s a chance for them to go and play first team football somewhere.
“You build in an obligation to buy, and that transfer happens further down the line. But, yeah, you know, at the minute, we’re not seeing many strong rumours of outgoings. It’s more about incomings, which has been the way for two years, to be honest. And, yeah, we’ve stopped trying to sort of guess the strategy as well, I think.”
Chelsea move for Brazilian midfielder
Chelsea have yet to make a signing in the January window, but the club have been linked with a loan move for Douglas Luiz.
Luiz could move to Chelsea despite currently being on loan at Nottingham Forest until the end of the season from Italian club Juventus.
The 27-year-old has only made five starts for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this season, but has had a successful spell previously at Aston Villa.