Enzo Maresca has no plans to improve his Chelsea squad in January, despite defensive injury issues causing new problems in recent weeks. Despite losing both Reece James and Wesley Fofana for an indefinite period up to the New Year, little has looked like stopping the revived Blues.
After Sunday's 4-3 win over Tottenham, Chelsea went second in the Premier League, and are already in a strong position to qualify automatically for the last-16 of the Conference League. Benoit Badiashile was chosen as cover for Fofana in north London, though, and struggled.
The Frenchman was moved from his spot on the right of defence, at half-time, with Levi Colwill taking over. The change was inspired by Maresca as Badiashile regained his composure and he appeared much more comfortable both in and out of possession when on his natural left-hand side.
Chelsea's back-line and goalkeeper have been the centre of much debate so far this season, though, with many predicting it will be the downfall in any possible title race. Maresca, who has ruled Chelsea firmly out of fighting Liverpool - or indeed Arsenal and Manchester City - at the top of the Premier League, has also denied that more reinforcements are needed next month.
"Conceding three goals against Tottenham, there are just two teams that have conceded less than us," he explained on Wednesday ahead of playing Astana in Kazakhstan. "So we are attacking and defending well.
"You're not going to win games or win any titles just scoring goals, you need to defend. As I said, conceding three goals against Spurs, there are just two clubs that have conceded less than us so also we defensively that probably means we are doing well."
Only Liverpool (11) and Arsenal (15) have let in fewer than the 18 Chelsea have allowed past Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen - who played in the 5-1 win over Southampton last week. However, end-to-end play and mishaps from the goalkeeper, in particular, have left some to question if mid-season additions might be the key difference between Chelsea truly challenging for glory.
Maresca, though, is not being drawn on that suggestion. "No, we are not thinking at all, absolutely, about the January transfer window," he said firmly at Cobham. "We still have many games before that. We are still many games, six Premier League games and two Conference [League] games, or five and two. We are still many, many games before January and now the focus is just on the amount of games before that."
It is indeed a run of six until the January window opens - with two Conference League clashes and four in domestically to accommodate. Unlike in 2023, the first January market for the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly administration to attack, Chelsea are gearing up for a quiet period once again.
Outgoings are expected as players seek further game-time - although most of those names are on the outside of the senior squad (Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Carney Chukwuemeka, for example) or in the academy. Incomings are not being widely discussed, at this stage, as the balance of Maresca's squad continues to prove effective so far this season.