Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea will not be making an early return from a hip injury, and Malo Gusto has also joined him on the treatment table.

Nkunku, who missed a significant portion of the first half of the season due to a knee problem, encountered a fresh injury in early January during training. Initially, it was suggested that he would be sidelined for three weeks, and there were reports of a potential early return. However, Chelsea has now confirmed that he is still “undergoing his rehabilitation programme.”

When questioned about Nkunku’s availability in a press conference before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Middlesbrough on Tuesday, head coach Mauricio Pochettino stated, “No. He’s not available. It’s a shame. He’s still recovering. He suffered a little bit in his hip, now he’s recovering. It’s not a big issue. It’s just delayed the possibility of being available again.”

The £52 million ($66 million) summer signing, Christopher Nkunku, has yet to make an appearance in 2024, missing games against Preston, Middlesbrough, and Fulham. Additionally, Nkunku’s compatriot, Gusto, has also joined him on the treatment table, ruling them both out for the clash with Middlesbrough.

With 10 first-team players unavailable for the second leg, including club captain Reece James, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana, and loanee Cesare Casadei being cup-tied, Chelsea faces a challenging scenario.

Nevertheless, they hope to have enough quality players to overturn a 1-0 aggregate deficit and secure a spot in the Carabao Cup final. The Carabao Cup represents Chelsea’s best chance of winning silverware at this stage of the season, with Liverpool being the likely opponents in the Wembley showpiece. Nkunku aims to return to training before the significant league meeting with Aston Villa on Friday night.

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Chelsea player Reece James has opened up about his “hate” for the January transfer window after Chelsea spent over £300million on eight new signings last month.

The 23-year-old right-back, who came through the Blues’ academy, has missed significant periods of the 2022–23 season due to a knee injury.

Since the summer, his team Chelsea has spent more than £600 million on players, thanks to Todd Boehly, the club’s new owner who took over from Roman Abramovich.

The west London club spent around £300 million on transfers alone in January, breaking the previous British record to recruit Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8 million and bringing in Ukrainian international Mykhailo Mudryk for £88.5 million.

In all, eight players were signed by Chelsea in January, including Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid for £10 million over a six-month period. Seven of these players were given permanent contracts.

One player they decided to sign was 19-year-old Malo Gusto from Lyon, who has been loaned back to the French club and is expected to provide competition for James at right-back next season

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James, speaking to Sky Sports on Monday, has revealed that he is not a fan of transfer windows.

‘The transfer window is one of my biggest hates,’ he said. ‘The January period is always so busy with many games and then you have transfer noise.

‘It’s all a bit too much in one month, I don’t really listen to much… it’s a crazy month.’

🗣️ “The transfer window is one of my biggest hates because the January period is always so busy with many games and then you have transfer noise, it’s all a bit too much.”

Reece James says he dislikes the transfer window. 💰❌ pic.twitter.com/sZ5XwGWspk

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 13, 2023

He added: ‘I quite enjoy playing with new players, you don’t really know what to expect from them.

‘They’ve all come in from different places all over the world, different teams, and they are all here to help at the end of the day. The quicker they can settle the quicker they can help.’

🗣️ “I quite enjoy playing with new players, you don’t quite know what to expect from them. The quicker they’re comfortable and settled the quicker they can maximise our help.”

Reece James on playing with brand new signings. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/TpE8dGYIBT

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 13, 2023

Chelsea has had a terrible season; Graham Potter’s team is now ninth in the Premier League standings and ten points behind the top four.

However, James is certain that once their new players have adjusted, they can become “one of the top teams in the world.”

‘I don’t think there’s a trophy we can’t win,’ the England international said.

‘When that happens I don’t know, but with the team we’re building and what the club is turning into…

‘With all the young players, once we have played together for a longer period of time I think we’re going to be one of the best teams in the world.’

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Chelsea Football Club have officially announced that they have completed a deal to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British record transfer fee.

Enzo Fernández joined Chelsea for a Premier League record fee and with Premier League record expectations.

He has now completed the standard first procedures for recruits, such as posing with the shirt to indicate that he would wear the No. 5 and use his first name, Enzo, rather than his last name, Fernández.

Unless you come from a league where you have something other than your last name on your shirt, you must use your last name in the Premier League. Enzo went by “Enzo” for Benfica (No. 13) and by “E.Fernández” for Argentina (No.24).

The No.5 shirt was only vacant for a day, with Jorginho relinquishing it after leaving for Arsenal on transfer deadline day (where he will wear the No.20).

Prior to Jorgi, Michael Essien and Frank Leboeuf were frequently linked to the No. 5. It was also worn briefly by Kurt Zouma, Alexei Smertin, and Erland Johnsen.

The talented midfielder made an excellent 2022, which included a number of standout displays for Benfica during his first season in Europe. He shone for Argentina in Qatar at the end of last year as they won the world title, and he was voted the competition’s best young player by FIFA.

Early on Wednesday morning, Benfica announced that the Blues would pay a whopping €121 million fee to sign the Argentina World Cup winner.

Although negotiations between the two parties lasted the entirety of the January transfer window, the move was not formally disclosed until after the deadline.

A world champion in Chelsea Blue. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/g5SOPFjlA7

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 1, 2023

However, Chelsea has now officially announced Fernandez’s arrival at Stamford Bridge, making him their eighth and final edition of the winter transfer window.

Chelsea had already brought in Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos and Malo Gusto, the latter of who will return to Lyon on loan for the remainder of the season.

Upon signing, Fernandez said:

‘I am grateful to Chelsea and its ownership for doing everything they could to make me a part of this project. I’m happy and excited to join the Pride of London, to play in the best league in the world and to compete for the biggest trophies. I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my team-mates on and off the pitch.’

Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner, said:

‘In Enzo we are signing a World Cup-winner and one of the brightest talents in global football. We are excited to add him to Graham’s squad and we are sure he will form an important part of our team going forward. Enzo has demonstrated his ability at the very highest levels so we’re looking forward to seeing what he will do in Chelsea blue!’

Smile, and the whole world smiles with you. 😁 pic.twitter.com/TiDhCwlzgB

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 1, 2023

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According to reports, PSG are ‘absolutely furious’ with Chelsea over the collapse of Hakim Ziyech’s loan move.

The 29-year-old was in Paris on Tuesday night prepared to finalize the agreement and had appeared set to join the Ligue 1 winners until the end of the season.

Ziyech was close to leaving Stamford Bridge, but a string of errors with the paperwork required to finalize the deal — errors for which PSG has blamed Chelsea — prevented him from doing so.

In an effort to expedite the transaction, PSG filed an appeal with the Legal Committee of the Professional Football League (LFP). They claimed that Chelsea’s failure to sign the documents twice was a factor in the third submission arriving beyond the 11 p.m. deadline.

But the LFP refused to grant Ziyech’s loan move on Wednesday morning after studying the evidence presented to them, leaving the player to return to Chelsea alongside a glut of new signings drafted in to replace him.

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Sources close to PSG have confirmed that the club are ‘bouncing’ and ‘absolutely furious’ at how Chelsea have conducted themselves, sensationally adding the Blues ‘act like the biggest club in the world when buying players, shame they don’t when it is a player moving the other way’.

Chelsea splashed the dough on pricey signings throughout the whole of the January transfer window as Todd Boehly attempts to inject fresh quality into Graham Potter’s underperforming team.

In the waning moments of the window, a British record transfer for Enzo Fernandez of Benfica was approved. Significant sums of money were also spent earlier in January on Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, and Malo Gusto.

Interestingly enough, Chelsea did not lose any players, which gives Potter a difficult time choosing which three players to add to his Champions League team for the upcoming season.

The Blues are currently 10th in the Premier League, some 21 points adrift of leaders Arsenal who also have a game in hand, and face Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

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Chelsea FC have announced and completed the signing of right-back Malo Gusto, who will spend the remainder of the season on loan with Lyon.

The Blues needed a new right-back to replace Reece James straight away and provide some competition, but after focusing on Gusto in the middle of the season, they discovered that Lyon was unwilling to part with the 19-year-old.

Chelsea decided to stick with the deal for Gusto rather than move on to another target, and According to reports, a fee of about €30m was agreed upon for the Frenchman.

Gusto has returned to Lyon to complete the season, and Chelsea has now confirmed that he has signed a deal that spans until 2030.

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The agreement is different from that involving Christopher Nkunku, a forward for RB Leipzig who won’t officially transfer to Stamford Bridge until the summer. Gusto is already a member of the Chelsea team.

Since making the transition to the Lyon senior setup last season, Gusto has received a lot of accolades in France. Before joining Chelsea, he made 54 appearances for the French team and contributed six assists.

He becomes the Blues’ seventh signing of the winter, following Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos and Noni Madueke in heading to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's newest: Malo Gusto! 👋 pic.twitter.com/wIQ3LkNR9p

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 29, 2023

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According to reports, Chelsea have held talks with Lyon over the signing of right-back Malo Gusto.

With the additions of Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Noni Madueke this month, the Blues have been busy reinforcing their offence. However, right-back is another area of focus for Chelsea as they continue to struggle without Reece James.

Sources have already revealed that conversations have been had with Lyon about Gusto, a 19-year-old right-back, and the club executives are aggressively trying to recruit a new right-back.

Chelsea’s interest in Gusto was initially made known in October when scouts from Stamford Bridge, as well as those from Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Manchester United, observed the young defender.

Now, the Blues have made their move to try and recruit Gusto, whose current Lyon contract has just 18 months left to run.

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Gusto fits into Chelsea’s current transfer model – attempting to recruit a team of young stars – and is seen as viable competition to James, who remains the club’s clear first-choice for the position when fit.

Lyon are well aware of their battle to keep Gusto, both in terms of a transfer and concerning his expiring contract, but they are determined to hold on to the teenager for at least the remainder of the current season.

The French team is unwilling to part ways with a starting defender halfway through the season because they missed out on playing in Europe last season and are further behind this time around. They have dropped to ninth in the Ligue 1 standings and are currently 12 points outside of the qualification spots.

Chelsea might pursue a contract that allowed Gusto to stay with Lyon for the following six months, but the Blues are presently prioritizing a permanent transfer to strengthen a position that has consistently been difficult to fill when James is injured.

33-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta, who made his 500th appearance for Chelsea in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool, has struggled to match James’ output and Graham Potter has often resorted to using centre-back Trevoh Chalobah out on the right instead.

Chelsea has a number of targets in mind to fix their right-back weaknesses, including Gusto, Denzel Dumfries from Inter, and Pedro Porro from Sporting CP.

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