Chelsea Gaffer, Mauricio Pochettino eyes ex-Tottenham target as first Chelsea January transfer call ‘confirmed

Chelsea transfer news – The Blues are set to be in the market for a new centre-back with Trevoh Chalobah expected to depart, and Mauricio Pochettino is said to have made up his mind

Edmond Tapsoba of Leverkusen celebrates after scoring his teams fifth goal during to the game Bayer 04 Leverkusen against Qarabag FK at BayArena on October 26, 2023 in Leverkusen, Germany.
Chelsea are said to be interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba

Todd Boehly and Mauricio Pochettino are set for another busy transfer window with a new Chelsea target revealed. Ahead of the January trading period, the Blues had set their sights on Brentford striker Ivan Toney, although they look set to face stiff competition for his signature.

The 27-year-old is currently serving an eight-month footballing ban that is set to end in January 2024, although he has recently returned to team training before scoring in a friendly. Over the summer months and for the first part of the season, Toney was forced to train individually with the Englishman posting numerous updates on social media of his workouts.

Arsenal appear in a better position to sign Toney at this moment in time with Mikel Arteta a huge fan of his character and traits with Toney also open to an Emirates Stadium switch. Signing a new striker is the obvious outcome from the upcoming window but there could be another area of Pochettino’s squad Chelsea are looking to improve.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are interested in signing a new centre-back and left-back despite strengthening the position recently. Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile have all been signed in the last 18 months across those positions, but Chelsea are still intent on finding more players to compete for those roles, with one name in particular of interest.

“Chelsea are looking into a new centre-back signing because of the decision to sell Trevoh Chalobah in January,” Romano wrote on CaughtOffside. “Chelsea will look at the opportunities in the January transfer window. One player to watch is Edmond Tapsoba.”

The Bayer Leverkusen star was strongly linked with a move to Tottenham before they opted to sign Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg. The Burkina Faso international, who has made 12 appearances this season in all competitions and scored two goals, has also been a target for Manchester United, although he recently signed a new contract with the German club.

Likely heading out the Chelsea exit door will be Chalobah with the 24-year-old nearly leaving on deadline day. He is yet to feature this campaign after picking up an injury in pre-season with a setback suffered earlier this month as he got closer to a full return.

In September, reports emerged that Chalobah and Ian Maatsen were being frozen out of the squad after the latter also chose not to leave in the final hours of the summer window, although Pochettino dismissed those claims. “What I can tell you is there is two parts,” Pochettino explained to reporters.

“If an offer appears, it is because another part of the club accepted it to move or they were trying to find a solution or the player wanted to leave. But it is always easy to blame the club and blame the club. In the same way, maybe the player was thinking in pre-season or before the season to move in one direction. If after that didn’t happen, then I am fair with the player. I will give them a chance to perform and play here.

“Maybe the player decides to stay after but that’s the business. That is not ‘oh the club accepted the offer’ or ‘the player wanted to move’. Come on, it is the business that we know very well. The players that are here if they deserve will have the opportunities to play but they need to be better than the others in their position.”

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