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The January transfer window comes as an ideal opportunity for teams to address inconsistencies in their squad. Speaking of inconsistency, Chelsea have blown hot and cold this season where one week they seem destined to end with a top-4 finish while the very next week, they succumb to a poor result.
The Blues have won 4, lost 3, and drawn 1 of their last 8 Premier League games. Manager Frank Lampard has done a remarkable job so far given the inexperienced squad he inherited while taking over as the Chelsea manager.
Eden Hazard had left for Real Madrid and the 2016-17 Premier League Champions were banned from signing any player last summer. However, Lampard got a much-needed boost when FIFA shortened the length of Chelsea's transfer Ban and allowed the Blues to sign players in January.
Since then the West London side have been linked with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Ben Chilwell, Lewis Dunk, Thomas Lemar, Moussa Dembele and Timo Werner. However, Lampard will first need to clear the deadwood from his squad if he wishes to make any major signing this month.
With that said, we look at the 3 players who could leave Chelsea before the end of January transfer window.
#3 Olivier Giroud (Linked with Inter Milan)
It is no longer a secret that Olivier Giroud’s future lies away from Stamford Bridge as the French striker is heavily linked with a January move to Inter Milan.
The latest report from Italy suggests that the Serie A side have agreed an 18-month contract with the striker and will pay £4.2 million plus bonuses to Chelsea for Giroud’s signing.
The former Arsenal man has made just 5 appearances this season, 4 of which has come as a substitute. The 33-year-old striker has lost Frank Lampard’s faith and is destined to quit Chelsea this month.
Antonio Conte is keen on adding the Chelsea striker to his squad so he has some backup option to Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez who have worked tirelessly so far this season.
Signing Giroud makes great sense for Inter Milan as it would give them an attacking option from the bench. Conte will be able to rotate his front men better and continue to push for the Serie A title this season.
#2 Marcos Alonso (Currently frozen at the club)
Yes, Marcos Alonso is still a Chelsea player but the Spaniard seems on his way out of the club before the end of January transfer window. The attacking left-back is not trusted by Frank Lampard as Alonso has only played 588 minutes of Premier League football this season.
The 29-year-old has featured only once in the last 13 league games and often fails to even make it to the matchday squads. The only reason Alonso was not sold in the summer was Emerson’s recurring injury concerns.
Now that Emerson is back to full fitness, Lampard is keen to sell Alonso and use that amount to sign a new left back. Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell is a long-term target for The Blues but signing the English left-back in January may be a difficult task.
Reece James is coming along nicely at Chelsea which could tempt Lampard in using Cesar Azpilicueta in the left-back role which will further push Marcos Alonso out of Stamford Bridge.
Inter Milan are interested in signing the 29-year-old full back who excelled under Antonio Conte during the manager’s time at Chelsea. Conte is keen to work with his former player again and wants Inter Milan to sign the Spaniard at all cost.
#1 Pedro Rodriguez (Linked with Barcelona)
Pedro has not played a full 90 minutes for Chelsea since their 1-1 draw against Leicester way back on 18th August 2019. Since then, the Spaniard has featured in just 3 games for The Blues which clearly indicates that his future lies elsewhere.
The 32-year-old has constantly flirted with the idea of returning to Barcelona one day. Pedro has often cited the love he still gets from the Catalan fans and how returning to Camp Nou remains one of his greatest desires.
Pedro’s case has been helped by the recent season-ending injury to Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker underwent a knee operation last Sunday and is expected to be out of action for the remainder of 2019-20 campaign.
Barcelona are expected to make a short-term signing in January to ensure their attack does not lack quality as they chase La Liga and Champions League honors this season and Pedro seems the ideal transfer for them. The only hurdle will be to agree on a suitable transfer fee which Chelsea can accept easily.
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