What will the January transfer window hold for David Hancko, Ruben Neves and Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior? | National World / Getty Imagesplaceholder image
What will the January transfer window hold for David Hancko, Ruben Neves and Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior? | National World / Getty Images | National World / Getty Images
The Blues have been tipped to do some business in the January transfer window
After yet another high-spending summer, Chelsea look destined to battle only for a place in next season’s Champions League and the cup competitions after Enzo Maresca’s reign ended in disappointment and acrimony.
Liam Rosenior becomes the ninth manager to take charge of The Blues since Chelsea were last crowned champions of England, or even won a domestic trophy, and the big question is whether he can find any more joy than his predecessor. What Maresca’s reign made clear is that if Chelsea do want to be serious contenders for the Premier League again, they must change their transfer philosophy.
Already The Blues committed well over £50m to sign Emmanuel Emegha, Geovany Quenda, Denner, Dastan Satpaev (aged 23, 19, 18 and 18) in the coming summer, none of whom are likely to have a transformative impact in 2026/27. Chelsea need more leaders and experience on the pitch, particularly at the back. Marc Guehi would be superb addition and an upgrade between the sticks would only help, but if Chelsea aren’t willing to target older players with less sell-on value, they will always have a ceiling.
So to see if that change is likely to happen, we fired up Football Manager 26 and simmed to the end of the transfer window to see what it predicted.
Chelsea’s January transfer window signings predicted
Ademola Lookman - £30 million from Atalanta - Because what Chelsea really need is another cook in the kitchen at the top of the pitch. There’s no doubt that Lookman is a quality player, who’s come a long way since failing for four different teams in England, becoming a player who helped fire Atalanta to Europa League glory last season and averages a goal contribution every other game for La Dea.
However, he turned 28 this season, his contract runs out at the end of this campaign and he’s only scored three times and assisted once this season. And how much can he really add that Rosenior doesn’t already have in Cole Palmer, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Estevao, Pedro Neto, Facundo Buonanotte and Tyrique George?
Ruben Neves - £15m from Al-Hilal - Neves is just the player Chelsea need in the squad, but it’s difficult to see how he can feature heavily in their starting XI. Given they already have the shining pair of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in central midfield, plus Reece James who’s shown he’s capable of quarterbacking The Blues when needed.
However, Neves is a quality operator who could slot in for those stars when required with Chelsea still in all three of their cup competitions. A wizard on the ball, Neves would also bring on-field leadership that The Blues have sorely missed this season, having seen seven red cards.
He’s shown for Portugal that he’s still capable of shining on the biggest stage despite moving to the Saudi Pro League, and Neves’ grit could be a valuable asset when Chelsea need to see out games, especially given their inexperienced backline. Yet this signing would likely harm the development of 21-year-old Andrey Santos, so it would be a stark indicator of exactly where Chelsea’s focus lies between profit and success on the field.
David Hancko - loan from Atletico Madrid - The versatile Slovenian can line up anywhere on the left side of the defence and would provide some steel at the back. Vastly experienced, Hancko wouldn’t be a marquee signing but could play an important role in the second half of the season for Chelsea. Having previously starred for Feyenoord and Sparta Prague, the 28-year-old has fitted in seamlessly at Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone would feel his loss keenly.
Chelsea’s January transfer window exits predicted
Tosin Adarabioyo - £7.25m from Southampton - Tosin wasn’t meant to be a front line player for The Blues this season and in a league where defence wins titles (which though it’s a cliche, it still rings true in the Premier League), he’s shown why.
Defenders like Ruben Dias, Virgil van Dijk, Vincent Kompany, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho form the backbone of the champions of England, and Tosin isn’t that quality. But Tosin is too good for the Championship, and £7m would be a huge sum for a second-tier side to shell out on a 28-year-old defender.
Axel Disasi - loan to Girona - Rosenior has plans for Disasi and Sterling, though at this stage surely the Frenchman would take any option that would let him back out onto the pitch. Also in this prediction, Jimmy-Jay Morgan heads to Watford for a nominal fee and there’s loan moves for Genesis Antwi to Doncaster Rovers, Ishe Samuels-Smith to MK Dons and Harrison Murray-Campbell to Leyton Orient.
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