With Mauricio Pochettino’s future with several players still up in the air, the writers at the Chelsea Chronicle have speculated on how Pochettino will approach the market during the January transfer window.

As the Blues may be considering a window to start balancing the budget, rumours have circulated that Conor Gallagher, Ian Maatsen, and Trevoh Chalobah could all be on their way out of Stamford Bridge.

Even if they don’t see their team competing for European spots at the moment, supporters will be hoping for fresh acquisitions.

The Chelsea Chronicle predict the Blues’ January transfer window

Despite the Blues’ best efforts, goals have been hard to come by at Stamford Bridge, hence the forward position is one of their primary targets.

Victor Osimhen has been the most talked about, but after his rumoured new contract goes into effect, the club will smash their transfer record in any deal involving him at this time.

They may seek out a different striker as a result; Mauricio Pochettino is rumored to have a shortlist of candidates.

Jack Drury

The focus, according to Jack Drury, would be on players departing the club rather than on those joining during the January transfer window.

Players who can change a team’s fate are generally hard to come by in January. Chelsea tried their hardest to pull this off a year ago, but it cost them dearly.

When considering new recruits, the Blues will keep in mind that the Premier League is actively punishing teams for failing to comply with FFP regulations. Regrettably, this implies that they will have to shell out a lot of money before they can turn their luck around.

It seems weird to sell Conor Gallagher, but the club’s upper management is eager to cash in on that pure profit. Who knows whether anyone has that kind of cash on hand to spend in the new year.

Trevoh Chalobah, Ian Maatsen, and Malang Sarr appear to be going. Even when other left backs are out with injuries, the former still doesn’t see any playing time.

It seems like they won’t be able to recruit a truly outstanding striker until the summer, even if a striker is the obvious major aim. Even though this could lead to a goal drought for the remainder of the season, they would be wise to forego the “buy cheap, buy twice” strategy.

Dom Toner

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Dom Toner predicts Chelsea’s owners will put their foot on the accelerator to sign a new striker, while allowing some first-team players to exit the building.

If there’s one thing supporters know about this Chelsea ownership, they like to attack the transfer windows. Therefore, I’m going to predict at least some form of drama around Stamford Bridge when next month’s January window does open.

In terms of potential incomings, the centre-forward position is the big talking point. I think the Blues will go into their pockets to sign a new frontman, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen the high-profile strikers linked in the transfer rumour mill. I’d be happy with either!

As for exits, there’s some familiar names that may be on the chopping block. I’m going to guess we say goodbye to the likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr.

For what it’s worth, I don’t imagine Conor Gallagher going anywhere, despite rumours of a possible sale to help balance the books.

It would be reassuring to know that Mauricio Pochettino does get a big say in any of the business conducted by the club in the New Year.

Caleb Sage

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Caleb Sage expects Chelsea to prioritise signing a new centre-forward in the January transfer window, but thinks they will have to wait until the summer to land one and their other top targets.

The whole world knows Chelsea need a new striker. Statistically, Nicolas Jackson has actually not performed too badly since joining the club from Villarreal in the summer, but is he enough to get them back into the Champions League and competing for the title again? It is a lot of pressure to put on a 22-year-old and a situation he should not have been put in.

It now looks like Chelsea will try to correct that by bringing in an elite No.9, with Victor Osimhen being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

However, Napoli selling their talisman in the middle of the season seems highly unlikely to me, especially if he goes on to sign a new contract. I cannot see anything happening until the summer.

With Ben Chilwell having picked up another bad injury this term, I can also imagine the club moving for a new left-back. There has been talk about interest in Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies as his contract at the Allianz Arena continues to run down. But similar to Osimhen, it is probably a deal that is going to have to be done at the end of the campaign. Bayern will be reluctant to sell such a key player now.

Chelsea will try to make moves in the winter transfer window. Since taking over the club, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have not been afraid to enter the market. However, I would be surprised if they managed to land any of their top targets at this moment in time.