A Bundesliga star headlines a nine-figure January spending spree prediction for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea
From the positivity of a six-week unbeaten domestic start, that last-minute victory over Liverpool and two wins out of three in the Champions League (both against former winners of the competition) to defeats to Brighton, Sunderland and 10-man Manchester United and the chaos of five red cards, it’s already been a strange season.
And with the release of Football Manager 26 (really the reverse Valentines Day) just days away, we loaded up the Beta and simmed to the start of February to see whether it predicts Chelsea get the reinforcements they need.
Leipzig’s Nusa leads nine-figure Chelsea January spending spree
Emanuel Emegha - £21.5million from RC Strasbourg - despite spending around £1.5 billion under Todd Boehly, Chelsea are forcing Joao Pedro to play through injury according to Maresca, due to Liam Delap’s injury. If only they had a player on their books who’s deputised up front for club and country like Raheem Sterling…
Anyway, Emegha would be a more bespoke solution to the problem, he scored 14 goals in 27 Ligue 1 games for Liam Rosenior’s side last season and has continued that strike rate since the summer, despite battling hamstring problems.
Denner - £7m from Corinthians - If we told you to say which club would spend £7m on a Brazilian who’s yet to make a senior appearance, Chelsea would be in the top three guesses. Aged 17, Denner is already racking up appearances for Corinthians U20 and in 2025 has started every game he’s been involved.
Jens Hjerto-Dahl - £7.5m from Tromso - The definition of a prodigy, Hjerto-Dahl almost reached a century of senior Tromso appearances as a teenager and has been an ever-present since the start of 2024. Standing 6’4” tall, £7.5 million could prove to be a bargain for a potential Rolls-Royce in midfield, who already shows impressive composure, control and technical ability on the ball, is ahead of the curve in terms of physicality and a potential future Norway captain.
Antonio Nusa - £73m from RB Leipzig - Just in case Jamie Gittens, Garnacho, Tyrique George, Pedro Neto and Pedro weren’t enough options at left-wing, Chelsea make versatile 20-year-old Antonio Nusa their fourth biggest signing ever. Another Norwegian, needs to improve his end product averaging just a goal contribution every three games tor RB Leipzig and every five games in senior football, but the raw ability is certainly there.
Nusa is strong in the tackle and more importantly averages 2.68 successful take-ons per game according to Opta via FBref.com, a number that would put him as the 20th best dribbler in the Premier League by that metric, ahead of Eberchi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish and Mohamed Salah.
Dastan Satpayev - 3.5m from Kairat Almaty - More of a developmental striker signing than Emegha, Satpayev averaged better than two goals every league three games for the Kazakh champions last season as was a star in Champions League qualification, netting three times.
He’s the 33rd-youngest Champions League player of all time, interestingly one day ahead of Dominic Solanke’s European debut for Chelsea in 2014.
Chelsea strengthen Premier League rivals with three sales
Axel Disasi - £17.25m to Manchester United - Possibly the most Chelsea sale ever, they're surely the only club who could get almost £20m for a player who isn't even training with the first team and hasn't played a game for The Blues in over eight months despite being fit.
Tosin Adarabioyo - £17.25m to Bournemouth - Given Chelsea’s injuries at centre-back, Adarabioyo has the chance to cement a place in the starting XI, but he hasn’t taken that opportunity with both hands so far and was lambasted by Blues fans for failed to prevent Brian Brobbey from assisting Sunderland’s winning goal. However, The Cherries are becoming renowned for their defender development so the 28-year-old could blossom there if given he chance to reset.
Jimmy-Jay Morgan - £2.3m to Leeds United - Though the 19-year-old had a tough introduction to senior football last season at Gillingham, Morgan stepped up to League 1 on loan at Peterborough this campaign and has bounced back well, scoring four goals in nine games at a strike rate of one per 140 minutes.
However, it’s unlikely Leeds would be relying on him to keep them in the Premier League this season. FM26 also sends Dujuan Richards to for West Bromwich Albion for a nominal fee while Datro Fofana heads on loan to Real Betis and Shumaira Mheuka and Tayo Subulaye temporarily move to the north west of England, to Preston North End and Fleetwood Town respectively.
Continue Reading