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Chelsea could use the January transfer window to sign a number of players for free
The festive season is upon us and that means we are extremely close to the January transfer window opening.
Chelsea brought in the likes of Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato and Joao Pedro in the summer as Enzo Maresca's squad was given another refresh following the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup wins at the back end of the 2024/25 season.
The Blues have shown they are more astute than ever during transfer windows and plans will no doubt be in place for this January and probably next summer, too.
The winter window is not just for signing players for the here and now, though. Premier League clubs can have talks with players in foreign leagues whose contracts are up in the summer, to come to a pre-contract agreement with them over a free transfer in the summer.
Here are three such players that may interest Chelsea in January...
Marc Guehi
Guehi looks set to leave Crystal Palace when his contract expires on June 30. The central defender came close to joining Liverpool in the summer but that move was halted when the Eagles did not sign a replacement. The Reds and Manchester City are said to be interested in signing the 25-year-old but it's fair to suggest Chelsea could come in, too. The England international came through the youth system at Cobham but made the move to Palace in 2021 for around £18million. As he does play in the Premier League Chelsea would have to technically wait to approach Guehi, although an agreement could be reached in the summer.
Mike Maignan
The AC Milan goalkeeper is very much admired by Chelsea and the club tried tried bringing him to Stamford Bridge over the summer transfer window. At the time Maignan had around 12 months remaining on his deal at the San Siro, and Chelsea thought they could bring him to the club for a cut-price fee. Milan, however, were adamant that they would not accept anything less than £25million, and the Blues ended up walking away from negotiations. They could return and sign the 30-year-old for nothing now, especially with Filip Jorgensen potentially heading out the exit door sometime soon.
Dusan Vlahovic
Very much a wildcard option. Vlahovic is said to have no intention of renewing his contract at Juventus and that means he is set to leave the Bianconeri club next summer. The 25-year-old Serbian striker has been linked with a move to the Premier League before, most notably Arsenal in 2021. He has scored six goals in 17 appearances for the Italian giants this season and while Chelsea may not be in need of a striker, the Serb would at least be a step up on Marc Guiu and offer Maresca more depth.
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