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News
- 41 minutes ago
Why Chelsea's January transfer window was actually a major success
Cameron Smith
- 3 Feb 2026 13:45 GMT
- 6 min read
Analysis
Chelsea’s business in the transfer market since the arrival of Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly in 2022 has been widely criticised, and for good reason.
They have spent close to €2 billion on new signings, but they are still yet to compete for the Premier League title under their new ownership, while their squad arguably regressed due to their transfer activity last summer.
They have once again been slammed by fans for their business this January, but the Blues actually enjoyed a wholly positive transfer window. FootballTransfers explains why…
1. Avoided paying over the odds for Jeremy Jacquet
Jeremy Jacquet looked destined to join Chelsea for the majority of the transfer window, but the Blues were eventually gazumped by Liverpool, who agreed a deal that could reach €70 million if add-on clauses are met.
On face value, it looks like another major transfer blunder and it could well prove to be a massive mistake in a few years. After all, Chelsea have been burned by their failed pursuits of fellow French talents Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki and Hugo Ekitike during the Clearlake Capital era.
However, Jacquet only has 36 appearances in Ligue 1 to his name and he remains a raw talent. Of course, he could develop into one of the best centre-backs in the world, but football isn’t simple and there is no guarantee he will reach his potential.
His Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently stands at just €17.8m and that is a far more realistic figure given his lack of first-team experience.
Chelsea’s failure to sign the France U21 international looks incredibly poor due to their well-documented pursuit of his signature, but he chose Liverpool because of a better first-team pathway. Ultimately, Chelsea’s stockpiling of young talent has come back to bite them.
However, this is another reason why Chelsea’s inability to land Jacquet could be a blessing in disguise. The Blues already have five talented, and young, right-footed central defenders on their books - namely Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong, Aaron Anselmino, Mamadou Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah - while Tosin Adarabioyo remains at the club as a more experienced option too.
In regards to left-footed options, however, they only have Levi Colwill. Benoit Badiashile has been too error-prone during his stint at Stamford Bridge, while Jorrel Hato is yet to fully settle and is viewed as more of a left-back for now.
As a result, using the money they would’ve spent on Jacquet to land another left-footed centre-back this summer would be objectively good business. Nico Schlotterbeck of Borussia Dortmund is the obvious candidate for this role if he is attainable.
Furthermore, by recalling the aforementioned Sarr instead of signing Jacquet, Chelsea have still provided Liam Rosenior with another centre-back to work with for the remainder of the season, while they resisted offers for the supremely talented Acheampong.
2. Dead wood has been offloaded
Raheem Sterling has finally left Chelsea, with the club mutually agreeing to terminate his contract after being unable to finalise a permanent sale.
The ex-England star had no future in west London and his exit is great news for the Chelsea owners.
Meanwhile, fellow unwanted stars Tyrique George, Axel Disasi and David Datro Fofana all departed Stamford Bridge on Transfer Deadline Day. The Blues would’ve liked to have sanctioned permanent exits for all three players, however they were forced to accept six-month loan departures.
Despite this, the size of Rosenior’s squad has still diminished to a more manageable number and the ‘Bomb Squad’ no longer exists (for now).
Current ETV
Facundo Buonanotte
AM (C), M (CR)
Leeds Utd
Facundo Buonanotte
AM (C), M (CR)
Leeds Utd
ETV Range
€24.9M - €30.4M
In addition, Facundo Buonanotte’s loan move from Brighton & Hove Albion was cancelled, with the Argentine having fulfilled his role as a rotation option in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Small transfer fees were also earned through the permanent sales of academy duo Ato Ampah and Leo Castledine to Stoke City and Middlesbrough respectively. Neither had any chance of breaking into the first-team at Chelsea and their exits therefore represent good business.
3. No unnecessary signings
Chelsea have splashed the cash whenever possible under Clearlake Capital and many of their signings simply haven’t worked out.
For example, the Blues completed the surprise signing of Saint-Etienne midfielder Mathis Amougou for €15m last January. Five months later he was sold to Strasbourg and he looks unlikely to return having failed to make a meaningful impact at the Ligue 1 outfit.
STATS
Mathis Amougou
M (C)
Strasbourg
Mathis Amougou
M (C)
Strasbourg
This year, however, Chelsea completed just one signing - with Yisa Alao arriving from Sheffield Wednesday to bolster the club’s U21 squad.
There was very little value in the market in January and with no sensible transfer options available, Chelsea avoided the temptation to bring in a new face. This isn’t a groundbreaking strategy, of course, but it does represent a major change for the Blues’ hierarchy.
The fact Chelsea didn’t bolster their first-team squad with any new signings could be used as a stick to beat them with. But, it should go down as a positive, especially considering Sarr has returned to Stamford Bridge and is likely to be immediately favoured by Rosenior.
The Blues can instead target a few key positions during the summer window, where better value is likely to be available.
Football transfer news headlines today
Deadline Day: Every official confirmed transfer around Europe
Five Deadline Day transfers you might have missed
The 10 most expensive signings of the January transfer window
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