Chelsea

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Now that the transfer window is closed and we know who has what, I have tipped Liverpool win to the league, with Arsenal and Manchester City in second and third respectively, and Chelsea in fourth.

Maybe, I am being a little bit too biased and my Blues hat is on, but I would like to think they could do it.

There have been real promising glimpses this season, so that is probably their target now. But because of the way Nottingham Forest have performed, along with Bournemouth and Newcastle, it will be difficult and tight.

There has been no suggestion that Forest will fall off and Eddie Howe's Magpies have slyly creeped up. So fourth position to me is still open and the hardest to pick.

If Chelsea do it then it will be an unbelievable finish given Enzo Maresca only came in during the summer and where they were as a club at the beginning of the season.

Maresca has brushed off talk of them being title challengers all campaign and said that they are not ready to seriously mount a challenge. Looking back, I don't think those comments helped because the players were confident and flying, so I don't know if it made them take their foot off the gas a little.

That was an odd one for me because you don't hear Nuno Espirito Santo saying the same at Forest. It did take pressure off performances but I think the standard of performances also went a bit because of that.

Either way, if they are to finish top four, they will need to improve their home form.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is planning to use 20-year-old Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos, who is currently on loan at Strasbourg, in his first team next season. (Fabrizio Romano), external

The Blues failed in a late attempt to hijack Tottenham's loan signing of 19-year-old Bayern Munich attacker Mathys Tel on deadline day. (L'Equipe - in French), external

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Chelsea have progressed from their previous two FA Cup ties against Brighton, doing so in the 1966-67 fourth round (4-0 via a replay) and the 1972-73 third round (2-0).

Brighton have lost their past four meetings with Chelsea, and the Seagulls have also won just one of their past 11 home matches against the Blues (D3 L7).

Nottingham Forest rejected a deadline day offer from Chelsea for Brazilian defender Murillo, 22. It would have been a club-record sale. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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Will Faulks
Fan writer

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The dust has settled on a busy deadline day at Chelsea, with some moves not actually confirmed until Tuesday.

In contrast to the past couple of years, this winter window was all about spring cleaning. A squad stuffed to the brim back in August has been further trimmed down, various loans have been shuffled and numbers reduced before a second half of the season where there will not be the same need for a full second string to play every week.

From an accounting and player-trading perspective, things went well. Big names on big wages found loans which should help them retain or improve their value, while a number of academy graduates were also moved on with sell-on clauses.

But from a football point of view, the squad has only been weakened.

Joao Felix, Axel Disasi, Cesare Casadei and Renato Veiga were not first-team regulars but they were useful options. A squad needing depth in central midfield and was reportedly looking to buy attackers ended up losing players in both areas.

No back-up striker was brought in, nor was another option in goal - although given the club's recent record in buying in that position, perhaps that is a good thing.

It is very hard to celebrate finding a loan for Felix when it just highlights the strange decision to bring him six months ago.

Veiga leaving helps the balance sheet but not the teamsheet.

The return of Trevoh Chalobah is an improvement, but one hard to celebrate given the obvious short-sightedness of ever having let him go.

Window by window, even the most transfer-addicted Chelsea fans are starting to understand the reality of being a club with focus is on profits, not prizes.

Now the sugar rush of accumulating talent is over, the hangover has begun.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea's new signing Mathis Amougou is likely to join Strasbourg next summer.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined on deadline day in a £12m move from St Etienne and will initially serve as part of Enzo Maresca's squad.

Chelsea need the cover in midfield for Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez after letting Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka leave in January.

It will allow Amougou to develop around the quality of talent at the Premier League club and acclimatise to life in England.

But a return to France with partner club Strasbourg, which shares the same BlueCo ownership, is also on the cards to continue giving him the minutes he needs to develop longer term.

Meanwhile, it is increasingly looking like Brazil international Andrey Santos has outgrown Strasbourg through his sensational performances.

The 20-year-old will likely return to Stamford Bridge but is also beginning to find clubs are interested in signing him on a permanent basis.

There is also an idea discussed internally to give Ecuadorian international attacker Kendry Paez - due to move to Stamford Bridge this summer - a spell at Strasbourg, although sources close to the player and club insist no final decision has been made.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea have signed midfielder Mathis Amougou from Saint-Etienne for a fee of about £12m.

The 19-year-old has committed to an eight-year deal and is considered an exciting talent for the future.

He will also boost manager Enzo Maresca's immediate midfield options, after Carney Chukwuemeka departed to Borussia Dortmund on loan and Cesare Casadei joined Torino on a permanent £12.5m deal.

Chelsea also have French top-flight club Strasbourg, to whom they are affiliated, as a potential landing spot for Amougou to develop in future seasons.

"It's an honour for me to sign for such a big club like Chelsea," Amougou said. "They believe in young players and the process they have in place to develop us is fantastic."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Five of the six senior players let go in the transfer window by Chelsea were in the Conference League squad but only a maximum of three changes can be made for the knockout stage.

Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia were left out of the League Phase squad because of the sheer size of Chelsea's squad - along with Ben Chilwell - but can now be added.

But Chelsea have also signed young midfielder Mathis Amougou and recalled defenders Trevoh Chalobah and Aaron Anselmino from their loan spells.

It means at least three players will miss out on European football, and potentially glory in a competition for which Chelsea are strong favourites.

Spurs, meanwhile, signed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, defender Kevin Danso and forward Mathys Tel.

But they may also want to add either Djed Spence or Sergio Reguilon to their Europa League squad after needing to play Archie Gray at left-back in several matches since Destiny Udogie's injury.

It means two of Ange Postecoglou's five players will be left out when picking his squad before Uefa's deadline at 23:00 GMT on Thursday.

Hopefully that cleared things up, rather than making you more confused.

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Gianfranco Zola, ex-Chelsea forward and former West Ham manager, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about the Blues' 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge on Monday:

"It was a good result for Chelsea, the performance wasn't as good as other times but that was due to the way West Ham played.

"West Ham played very well, they were organised and closed the space, especially in the middle of the pitch, and Chelsea had a lot of problems getting the ball to Cole Palmer's feet in dangerous areas."

On whether finishing in the top four this season would be considered success for Chelsea: "It would be a very good success. There are teams that are outperforming [expectations] and other teams are as strong as they are.

"Chelsea have a lot of potential within the team, but there are also a lot of young players. They need to get to a better level and get accustomed to playing to a high level. It's something that is not easy to get."

On Graham Potter's arrival at West Ham and their current position: "Their second half against Villa and Monday's performance were very good. We need to consider that they're playing without strikers at the moment, which is a big thing, and also they're missing influential players.

"I was really pleased with how they played, they made it so difficult for Chelsea.

"So far Graham has been doing very well and I'm very happy for him."

Listen to Tuesday's edition of BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast on BBC Sounds

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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"It's a chance for me to find a home," Joao Felix said when unveiled in his first Chelsea interview, adding: "After two loans, Chelsea and Barca, I needed to stay permanently in one place."

In the 2022-23 season, he started at Atletico Madrid but got a mid-season loan to Chelsea. The Blues didn't make his loan permanent, leading to a season on loan at Barcelona. Now, after six more months on a permanent deal at Chelsea, Felix has joined AC Milan on loan.

Lurching from superclub to superclub is a strange existence for a player who cost Atletico Madrid £113m and cost Chelsea £45m in the summer, when he was given a seven-year deal.

Simply, at Chelsea, he has not been good enough to unseat star man Cole Palmer in his favoured number 10 position.

His deal never felt needed for Chelsea given Palmer and Christopher Nkunku were there to play his role.

But the deal seems to have been engineered so Conor Gallagher could join Atletico Madrid for £34m, helping improve the club's PSR position and while he was in the last year of his contract.

It now looks like the deal that saw Felix join Chelsea was more about accounting than football.

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We asked for your thoughts after Monday's Premier League game between Chelsea and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans:

Andrew: Unconvincing. It took Jarrod Bowen's goal to wake Chelsea up. More Chelsea energy in the second half but not much penetration and too many lateral passes. And who would want to buy wantaway Christopher Nkunku after that anonymous cameo? West Ham were unlucky.

Richard: Scraping victory from a deflection is better than another ropey draw. Too many players are not performing to potential - Noni Madueke, Levi Colwill and Enzo Fernandez among them. Why should Nicolas Jackson be an automatic starter after failing to score for so many games? Still, the team deserves credit for the comeback and three points lifts Chelsea back into the top four.

Gary: Good to see a fighting spirit from the Blues - it is not easy to come back from 1-0 down. We remain a work in progress with some weaknesses still evident.

Hector: Same old, same old... Enzo Maresca's stubbornness and dogmatic tactics continue to stifle the natural ability of this young, talented team. The result of his tactics means the players don't know whether to stick or twist, and it shows in their hesitant, no-confidence displays in the past seven games. The number of sideways and backwards passes brought back memories of Thomas Tuchel's pragmatic football. Interestingly, the more Maresca imposes his philosophy, the less the team perform.

West Ham fans:

Kevin: Really good performance from a makeshift team. Lost to a deflected own goal and a missed foul on Bowen. The better team lost.

Harry: Our display was actually very impressive considering we don't have our best players fit right now. Defensively we were brilliant. The first goal shouldn't have stood and that was the only time they really tested our keeper for the whole game - and the second goal was an unlucky deflection. When we have Evan Ferguson, Mohammed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, James Ward-Prowse and Carlos Soler starting we will be unstoppable. Graham Potter will get us back in Europe next season - 100%. Maybe even this year.

Peter: Very poor refereeing and a dubious VAR call. Referee needs to be much stronger. Moises Caicedo should have been booked on four occasions in the first half. Much more disciplined performance under Potter that fully deserved at least a point from the game. Robbed at Chelsea again!

Ian: Much better and really seeing an improvement under Potter. Clear foul on Bowen for first goal and deflection for second, so a bit unlucky with the result. If Kudus learned to pass occasionally when in the box we might have got an equaliser. With several regular first-team players still out, Bowen made a massive difference and much more positive about the rest of the season now Julen Lopetegui has left. Onwards and upwards!

Aston Villa have completed the loan signing of Chelsea defender Axel Disasi until the end of the season.

He follows the arrivals of Marcus Rashford, Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia at Villa Park during the winter transfer window.

They will pay a £5m fee to loan Disasi but again there is no purchase option.

Chelsea wide player Harvey Vale has joined Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee.

The 21-year-old has made one appearance for Enzo Maresca's side this season, against Shamrock Rovers in the Uefa Conference League.

Vale has made seven first-team appearances in total for Chelsea, and he scored three goals in 47 games during a loan spell at Bristol Rovers last season.

He said on X, external: "From joining as a 12-year-old boy to making my debut, the memories I have made will stay with me forever.

"I want to thank all the players I've had the privilege to play alongside, the staff members who have helped develop and support me, and most importantly, the fans who have followed and stood by me every step of the way.

"I will always be grateful for the opportunity to wear this badge and achieve something I've dreamed of since I was a child."

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

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With fellow top-four contenders Manchester City and Newcastle losing earlier in the week, the stage was set for Chelsea to take the lead in the race for Champions League football with a win against West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

But it looked like the Blues supporters were about to witness a familiar script as Levi Colwill's defensive mistake had the hosts on the backfoot against the visitors, who led 1-0 at the halfway point.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who had already dropped his goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for Filip Jorgensen after the former's poor display against City, made more bold changes soon after the interval to revitalise his side.

Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho were withdrawn only seven minutes into the second half in favour of the pace of Pedro Neto and 19-year-old Marc Guiu.

Captain Reece James and Noni Madueke also did not last long as Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku came on just past the hour mark.

Neto created problems for the Hammers defence down the right-hand side before the Portuguese winger equaliser in the 64th minute while the Italian's changes also allowed more freedom for Cole Palmer, who forced the winner 10 minutes later.

The win moved Chelsea two points clear of City and Newcastle and Maresca will hope his side replicate more of the second-half display as they enter the business end of the season.

They now have a double-header away at Brighton up next, with the two sides facing off in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday before a league meeting six days later.

Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has joined Premier League rivals Crystal Palace on loan for the rest of the season.

Left-back Chilwell, 28, has not made a Premier League appearance since April 2024 and was told last August he was not part of Enzo Maresca's plans.

The England international has only appeared once this season, in the second half of the Blues' Carabao Cup win against Barrow in September.

Chelsea boss Maresca has previously said Chilwell, who has a contract until the summer of 2027, is free to leave on a permanent deal.

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Enzo Maresca spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Chelsea's victory against West Ham: "Today was a tough game especially mentally. When West Ham come here and sit back with 10 players behind the ball, it's not easy, so you have to be mentally strong and you need to be patient.

"We had more than 10 shots in the first half. We had clear chances in the first half but unfortunately, we missed the target. With some changes the game completely changed. Overall we completely deserved to win the game."

On changing his goalkeepers: "In this moment, Robert [Sanchez] needs rest and Filip [Jorgensen] was very good.

On the errors leading to goals: "I'm not concerned, it's the way we play. Sometimes defensive mistakes happen, keeper mistake, number nine misses the goal, that's football. It happens. The important thing is to continue."

On getting the win: "It was a good weekend for us in terms of results and we knew today was even better."

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Chelsea have won a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge in which they've trailed at half time for the first time since December 2013 against Southampton (3-1), with this the 18th game since (D2 L15).

Only Manchester City (17), Newcastle United (15) and Liverpool (14) have won more Premier League points this season from losing positions than Chelsea (13).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back to this page on Tuesday to find a selection of your replies

Phil McNulty and Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport

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Aston Villa have agreed a £5m fee to sign defender Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea.

The 26-year-old briefly looked bound for Tottenham but he is understood to have preferred a move to the Midlands club.

There has been no option to buy included in the deal so any fee to make the move permanent in the summer will have to be negotiated at a later date.

It leaves the north Londoners looking for alternative defensive options before the transfer deadline.

Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka has joined Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the season.

The 21-year-old signed from Aston Villa in August 2022 and has made 32 appearances to date, scoring two goals.

Read more

Follow live transfer updates and see all of Monday's completed deals

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We asked for your views on Joao Felix's pending loan move to AC Milan, having only re-joined Chelsea in the summer.

Here are some of your comments:

Keith: Gutted to see him go. He's never been given a chance at this club and he's just been used as a pawn in the club's transfer dealings. It's a real shame he's gone as there are a few players underperforming at the moment.

Chris: Felix has never been given chance, but with Cole Palmer he's not going to. If Palmer gets injured Felix is the player to replace him, so what are Chelsea going to do if that loan goes ahead?

Ken: Felix needs to stop agreeing to transfers to these clubs who horde talent and look for a club that has a real need for him and is a step below. Is he really going to displace Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic or Tijjani Reijnders at Milan? I highly doubt it.

Kieron: It's a big mistake as Chelsea need him and he's a good player. Enzo Maresca needs to play him more and not keep him as a sub or used only in small games.

Stephen: Felix is a talented player with amazing skills but he has never been given a run in the team to show us how good he is. Yet Nicolas Jackson has been number one forward choice for almost two seasons and remains a player with few skills, no heading ability and is unable to convert easy chances. What Enzo Maresca sees in him nobody really knows. This is a complete mistake and we should have given Felix a chance. Same with Christopher Nkunku as he's not been given a run of games.

Anthony: I personally think the way Felix was used as a pawn in the Conor Gallagher saga with Atletico Madrid shows how awfully Chelsea are being run. We should never have sold Gallagher and then when we signed Felix he was never given a proper chance.