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£30m transfer decision, Chilwell nightmare over - Six players who could leave Chelsea in January

As the January transfer window is now just a week away from opening, why not take a look at what to expect from a Chelsea point of view?

The Blues are in an unexpected title challenge, even though Enzo Maresca continues to deny so, but there are not expected to be many incomings through the door at Stamford Bridge. With how well Chelsea are doing in the Premier League, there are not many obvious weaknesses in their talented squad.

However, with so much talent within the squad, there are inevitably players that are frustrated because of a lack of football. As football.london explores below, there are six players that could be on their way out of the club - either for good or on loan - when January rolls around.

Ben Chilwell

Chilwell has played just 45 minutes this season, coming in the win against Barrow in the Carabao Cup back in September. The 27-year-old looks almost a certainty to leave in January and Maresca has hinted at just that in recent weeks.

Chilwell is clearly not part of Maresca's plans at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella and Renato Veiga are above the former England international in the pecking order, and Malo Gusto is also preferred to be used at left-back.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Chukwuemeka is in a similar boat to Chilwell. The 21-year-old has made five appearances, so a considerable amount more than Chilwell, but has only accumulated 130 minutes this season.

"There are players that unfortunately didn't play a lot with us in all the competitions like Chilwell, like Carney," Maresca explained after the win against Shamrock Rovers earlier this month. "Probably they are the first [to say] that they want to leave because they train every day, because they want to play games and if they don't play games probably they are thinking of leaving."

Harvey Vale

Another player that could leave Chelsea next month is Vale. The 21-year-old featured in the Blues' final two UEFA Conference League league phase matches against Astana and Shamrock.

However, his future at Stamford Bridge still remains uncertain with several Championship clubs interested in him. Vale is also a target for numerous clubs abroad, football.london understands.

Cesare Casadei

Casadei has been linked with a return to his homeland Italy in recent weeks and the midfielder could leave Chelsea on loan in January. The 21-year-old played five of Chelsea's six Conference League matches but is yet to feature in the Premier League.

With Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo all ahead of the Italian in the pecking order, it would take something special to see Casadei become a regular starter under compatriot Maresca.

Axel Disasi

Last summer saw Disasi strongly linked with a move away from Chelsea but the Frenchman ended up staying in SW6. Disasi's versatility has helped the Blues this season, with the centre-back, who has also been used as a makeshift right-back, playing 13 games in all competitions for the west Londoners.

Chelsea, though, will be in no rush to sell the 26-year-old with injuries to the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana. Equally, if the club were to receive a bid they deemed appropriate, then there would likely be no hesitation on their behalf.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Dewsbury-Hall has played nowhere near the amount of football he would have envisaged after making the £30million move from Leicester City in the summer. The 26-year-old midfielder followed Maresca to Stamford Bridge in a brave move for him, leaving the Foxes, who he had represented from the age of eight.

Maresca was asked about the midfielder's future after the win against Shamrock earlier in the month and refused to rule out him departing Stamford Bridge in January.

"Unfortunately I cannot say that, not about Kiernan, about all the squad, because when the transfer window is open, unfortunately anything can happen," Maresca said. "So I'm not focused on January, the only thing I can say about Kiernan is that we are very happy in the way he's working, we are very happy about his performance, and this is my thought about Kiernan."

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