Chelsea

Joe Bradshaw
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

One win in seven Premier League games has left Chelsea off the Champions League pace, with last weekend's conquerors Manchester City leapfrogging Enzo Maresca's side into the top four.

After eight wins in a row, Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet since 22 December and watched as leads have ebbed away against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Manchester City.

We have discussed the issues in goal already on Thursday - but what about the problems further forward.

Not helping matters is the form of Nicolas Jackson.

Two weeks ago, our Chelsea reporter Nizaar Kinsella outlined the striker's streakiness in a Blues shirt – regularly scoring in consecutive games before going weeks without netting again.

His inconsistency has been masked by Cole Palmer - an almost metronomic presence in front of goal who put Chelsea ahead in three of those games marked above.

But Maresca's talisman cannot do it alone and needs help from the supporting cast.

The above chart shows the number of goals scored by Chelsea's four most prolific players since the start of last season, with Palmer comfortably out in front.

Watching the timeline unfold (click here, external for the animation) is instructive. Palmer's leap into the lead was not inevitable. Indeed, it was not until almost midway through last season that he lit up.

As already established, Jackson's goals for Chelsea have come in clusters. One minute scoring four in three games, the next going goalless for seven matches.

And look at Christopher Nkunku. He barely featured last season but has arguably been a flat-track bully in the Conference League this season, continually plundering goals against Europe's lesser lights.

Yet he has not been backed to replicate that form in the Premier League and has been consistently linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this month.

Meanwhile, last Saturday's goalscorer, Noni Madueke, is another to have flickered in front of goal.

He has 16 since the start of 2023-24, but once again - as the timeline shows - he has been unable to sustain his end product.

It is perhaps another reminder that youthful squads tend to struggle with inconsistency.

With the transfer deadline only a few days away, Chelsea continue to be linked with adding new options to their unreliable forward line.

Instead, Maresca may have to focus on bringing the best out of the options already at his disposal if he wants to turbocharge Chelsea's push for the Champions League.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

In simple terms, boss Enzo Maresca will say a patchy run of form was coming for Chelsea.

The Italian manager said his side were not title contenders – even when second in the Premier League and just two points behind leaders Liverpool in mid-December.

But since then, the Blues have won just one league match and problems at both ends of the pitch have caught up with them.

There are questions about whether Robert Sanchez is good enough after his league-high five mistakes leading to goals, while forward Nicolas Jackson has not scored since mid-December either.

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The timing of the dip is curious when Conference League midweeks have suddenly ended, which as Uefa's third-tier competition, pitted Chelsea against teams they were simply both richer and better than.

Those matches regularly saw Maresca make up to 11 changes to his starting line-up which helped keep squad players happy and in form.

Now, they are either on the bench or being linked with moves away and the noise around the club in the transfer window has appeared destabilising.

Maresca acknowledged his dislike of the noise, calling it an "absolute nightmare" and, although partly tongue in cheek, that will be part of the truth he is living this month.

Image source, Getty Images

Every player at some point makes an error that leads to a goal -it is just sometimes these are less obvious than ones a goalkeeper makes.

For Robert Sanchez, five mistakes so far this season is too many. However, as a reference point, in the Premier League he has also made the second-most saves. So, it is not like every time he is out on the field he is a liability because there are times when he has helped his team out too.

You know what a player is going to be like, on the training pitch and as a person, and whether you believe these mistakes are who he is or whether he is just out of form. When somebody is out of form, it is a very different conversation to them not being good enough.

I believe Sanchez is good enough, there are other people who believe he is good enough and, most importantly, Enzo Maresca believes he is good enough. It is up to the players to find a way to get the best out of him and he will be desperate to do better.

He might not say it to us but there is a reason why Maresca is picking him. He has the belief in him and when you have that from your manager, at times like this you feel you can get out of it because the manager will give you the required time.

There is going to be a sense of urgency now because the games will get bigger and bigger, but there is no reason why Sanchez couldn't potentially be the hero for them come the end of the campaign.

But is he the long-term Chelsea goalkeeper?

If the manager believes this is a blip, there is no reason why not. Yet as time passes, if things do not start to change, then he will go and look for somebody else. You cannot justify playing someone in that position who has traits that cost games.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

There was perhaps a sense of irony come Saturday evening when Robert Sanchez made a mistake that contributed to Chelsea's 3-1 defeat by Manchester City, with on-loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga having already kept a clean sheet for Bournemouth in a win that took them level on points with the Blues.

Sanchez's latest mishap once again shone a light on an area of the pitch Chelsea have struggled with since Todd Boehly and Clearklake Capital's takeover in 2022.

They inherited a club that already had the world's most expensive goalkeeper and another that had won the Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup just months earlier.

Despite that, they have since recruited four more, and have racked up an astonishing eight senior goalkeepers on their books.

And yet, it still feels like the position most in need of more transfer business.

Having recently recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell - who had been out in the cold at the beginning of the season - should Chelsea be looking at goalkeeping options already on their books but playing elsewhere?

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While he too has caused his own headlines in the past, an experienced 30-year-old Arrizabalaga could be what Chelsea need to bring a sense of stability to an inexperienced backline.

With five, Sanchez is now joint-top of the list of keepers for errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season. Arrizabalaga on the other hand has made just one.

Despite having played five fewer games, the current Cherries shot-stopper has kept more clean sheets (five) than Sanchez (four).

He also just edges it in saves made per 90 minutes (3.4 to 3.6), total goals conceded (19 to 27) and overall save percentage with 75% compared to 72%.

One of the reasons Sanchez became, and has remained, as Maresca's number one is the Blues boss needs a goalkeeper to be able to play out from the back.

And while the Spaniard does attempt more passes per 90 than Arrizabalaga (34.5 to 28.1), their accuracy is still incredibly similar at 69.75% and 69.27% respectively.

There is often a noticeable sense of unease around the stadium when the ball is at Sanchez's feet and he appears to struggle when it comes to distribution further up the pitch.

In fact, the former Brighton keeper's long pass accuracy is well down on that of his Spanish counterpart at 29% compared to Arrizabalaga's 43%.

Chelsea have had a rich history of goalkeepers, and if they are to challenge those at the top in coming seasons it is clear they will need a world-class option.

Neither Sanchez or Arrizabalaga are likely to be that long term but, in the short term, they need someone to steady the defensive ship.

What do you think, Blues fans? Should the club look at bringing Kepa back? Or is Sanchez still the right choice?

Let us know

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea attacker Harvey Vale is close to leaving his boyhood club in January.

The 21-year-old has a host of options in the Championship but has highlighted that his preference is to join Queens Park Rangers, with whom he has agreed personal terms.

A deal between QPR and Chelsea isn't finalised but the Blues are targeting a significant sell-on clause for the academy star who is out of contract in the summer.

Vale rejected a move to Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq in September in favour of continuing his career in Europe.

Fellow U21s attacker Deivid Washington could return to Santos.

However, the Brazilian club are understandably targeting a move for Neymar first and have put all their efforts in to bringing in the former Barcelona and PSG superstar - who cancelled his contract at Al Hilal this week.

Torino are the favourites to sign 22-year-old Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei from Chelsea, with Lazio now out of the running. (Gianlucadimarzio - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Reports in the BBC Sport gossip column this morning suggest Chelsea have restarted talks with Bayern Munich over a potential deal for 19-year-old winger Mathys Tel.

So who is he - and why might Chelsea be after another wide forward?

Tel moved to Germany in the summer of 2022 from Rennes. Despite making only 10 first-team appearances, then Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said he was "one of the biggest talents in Europe".

In his first Bundesliga season, he was eased into senior football, registering five goals from one start and 21 substitute appearances.

The explosive, skilful winger then caught fire at the start of his second season, scoring three goals and recording an assist in his first five Bundesliga games - all off the bench.

However, he struggled to break into Bayern's star-studded starting XI. He only made six starts, the first not until March 2024, and three of them coming in the final three games of the campaign with Bayern's title defence already over.

A possible fresh start under Vincent Kompany has not materialised. The France Under-21 international has made just two Bundesliga starts this season and has been left as an unused substitute on nine occasions.

Tel fits Chelsea's transfer strategy of acquiring young, high potential talent across Europe with the view to increasing their value across long contracts.

With Mykhailo Mudryk absent indefinitely after testing positive for a banned substance - and Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto contributing just three Premier League goals so far this season between them - there is space within Enzo Maresca's squad for a goalscoring winger.

Ongoing links to Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho suggest this is an area Chelsea's co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Steward are targeting in the final days of the January transfer window.

However, as with many of the Blues' recent signings, it would represent signing potential and would not solve the issues they have experienced caused by inconsistencies within a squad filled with young players.

Bayern Munich and France Under-21 attacker Mathys Tel, 19, wants to leave the club this month and Chelsea are in talks with the Bundesliga side. (Mail, external)

Meanwhile, Bayern and Manchester United both hold an interest in Chelsea and France attacker Christopher Nkunku, 27, who is valued at about £70m. (Mail, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Will Faulks
Fan writer

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Chelsea's defeat at Manchester City had fans reaching new levels of frustration.

Not only was the poor performance piled on top of a series of bad results stretching back to Christmas, it is also a reappearance of the problems that have been evident in this squad from the moment it began being pieced together.

This is not just the annoyance of losing a game the team led after just a few minutes, it is the accumulated angst of so many games watching this "project" go round in circles.

Enzo Maresca said after the game he thought his side will have learned from and improved through this run of bad performances and bad results. But this match seemed to show the opposite.

Chelsea played City back in August to open the season, and they put in a timid showing against a weakened team. City were there for the taking, but Maresca's side did not show the belief or the courage to take advantage.

What has changed in the six months of the coach's reign since then? On the evidence of Saturday, very little.

Once again, Chelsea faced a weakened City - this time in more ragged form than in their first meeting, and with the setback of an early goal to deal with. But the pattern was exactly the same.

Nobody in Maresca's team looked like they believed they could win, even when they had the lead. Instead of pressing the advantage, they limply waited for City to regroup and accepted their fate with a maddening passivity.

This league is full of teams outperforming their wage bills and the talent in their squads.

Chelsea are a long, long way from being one of them.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

After scoring a stunning second goal against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round, Joao Felix barely celebrated.

The 25-year-old was described as a "man for the small occasions" by the Telegraph, which sums up his use under Enzo Maresca against lower league opposition or in the Conference League.

Of course, Felix once was the world record teenage transfer, moving for £113m from Benfica to Atletico Madrid in 2019 - but has since struggled to live up to the price tag.

That wayward career in Madrid led to an initial loan spell at Chelsea in 2023, but he has started just three league games so far in his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Felix has flair and skill but will never start in his favoured number 10 position ahead of star player Cole Palmer.

Meanwhile, there are questions over whether he would ever have returned had it not been for Chelsea's desire to sell Conor Gallagher, with less than a year left on his contract, in a separate £34m move - as Felix joined from Atleti for £50m.

Felix is now already being linked with a January move, external to Aston Villa.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

In the last 24 hours, Axel Disasi and Joao Felix's exits from Stamford Bridge have risen up the Chelsea news agenda.

Chelsea have reportedly had contact from Aston Villa and Wolves for defender Axel Disasi.

It is understood that Villa is the preferred destination to Disasi, who joined Chelsea 18 months ago in a £38.5m move from Monaco.

However, Felix's situation is less clear and could be a function of Villa holding historic interest in him.

Speaking of historic interest, could Villa striker Jhon Duran somehow be roped into the situation - having long been a target of transfer bosses at Chelsea?

Aston Villa have agreed personal terms with Chelsea and France defender Axel Disasi, 26. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Chelsea and Portugal forward Joao Felix, 25, also interests Aston Villa but they would only be able to take one player on loan from Stamford Bridge. (Talksport, external)

Liverpool and Chelsea are set to rival Napoli for Borussia Dortmund and Germany forward Karim Adeyemi, 23, but may wait until the summer to make a move. (Corriere Dello Sport - in Italian, external)

Manchester United may make a loan move for Chelsea and France forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, if England's Marcus Rashford, 27, leaves the club. (The Athletic - subscription required, external)

Chelsea are considering moves for RB Leipzig and Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko, 21, and Bayern Munich and France forward Mathys Tel, 19, after deciding forward reinforcements is more of a priority than defensive additions in January. (TeamTalk, external)

Chelsea and Italy midfielder Cesare Casadei, 22, is set to join Lazio in a permanent £11m deal. (90min, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Chelsea's Omari Kellyman is unlikely to get a loan move away in January.

The 19-year-old midfielder has agreed internally with staff at Chelsea that focusing on his long-term recovery from a serious hamstring injury is a priority.

It means that a potential loan move to the Championship, which had previously been a target, is currently deemed not viable.

Kellyman joined Chelsea in a £17m deal from Aston Villa but has yet to play in the first team under Enzo Maresca.

It is understood that he is nearing a full recovery to play in the Under-21s but that his re-introduction will be carefully managed.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Darren: Good solid performance after a shaky start. Still more room for improvement to get back to the solid City performances but it's looking like they could have turned the corner and get back on solid winning ways. New signings are looking good even despite the horrible mistake made by young defender Abdukodir Khusanov. Nerves and no training time with the team were probably the reason for his mistake. All in all, a good performance with good signs of City's fighting spirit back again.

Brian: The comeback kids did it again today. City played at a higher pace and with belief. This was good and the possession was effective. Phil Foden has found his mojo again.

Gene: Omar Marmoush played very well - he's going to be a problem for opposing teams. Khusanov made a mistake that should have been handled by Manuel Akanji. I do not like Matheus Nunes at the back and hope there's a replacement soon. With the speed we have up front, the long ball should be used more often with effectiveness for a quick counter.

Kevin: Awesome performance from Josko Gvardiol. Was also great to see Bernardo Silvahelping out the new lad after his nightmare start.

Chelsea fans

Jerry: Enzo Maresca is out of his depth as this game was there for the taking. Three players off a title-challenging team at least. Our goalkeeper needs putting out of his, and our, misery.

James: This was probably the most disappointing performance from Chelsea I've seen in a while. The inability to see that Man City were there for the taking and gradually let the game drift to another toothless defeat should worry those at the club. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory springs to mind.

Steve: Chelsea are a work in progress. Nothing more. Unfortunately they won't really go on to anything while having a keeper like Robert Sanchez who almost guarantees letting a goal in every game and a main striker who needs seven or eight games to get a goal.

Mike: At the start of the season, I was unsure about Maresca. Then we started stringing together results and I thought maybe I've been proven wrong. There's a frightening pattern of stepping back after a 1-0 lead and not trying to kill off the game early. Maresca is stubborn in not changing his style of play and persisting with Sanchez in goal. It's time for Maresca to go.

Chelsea's Portugal centre-back Renato Veiga, 21, was on his way to Turin on Sunday to complete a loan move to Juventus, who do not have an option to buy once the deal runs out at the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Chelsea's French centre-back Axel Disasi, 26, is a target for Aston Villa as they try to bring in a defender before the winter transfer window closes. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures are now available to watch.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Wolves 0-1 Arsenal

• Man City 3-1 Chelsea