Chelsea are moving quickly to bolster their attacking department but they are still behind on that front after Armando Broja's long-term injury. The Albanian was stretchered off in a friendly against Aston Villa last week and will now miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
For Chelsea this leaves them with just two strikers, though Kai Havertz's suitability to the role is still questionable. Graham Potter has an opportunity to revamp and start to mould his own squad next month though and that could see the first new signings of his era.
Christopher Nkunku is expected to join in 2023 but his pre-agreement won't be active until the summer when he officially joins, whereas David Fofana from Molde - another expected deal - is only 19. This leaves the Blues still short in the forward department, especially with the possibility that Hakim Ziyech will still exit the club, despite his impressive World Cup. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic is open to offers as well if a replacement comes in.
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This all leaves the whole situation very uncertain and flexible heading into January, and being ready to pounce on players that become available might be a potent way to work, though it doesn't necessarily play into the long-term view the owners want to take.
That was the way that Todd Boehly went about things in the summer, being alert to deals that led to Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and a similar ploy might be used in January with Barcelona. The Catalan side are still looking to ease their financial burden and want to find a way to move on from Dutch star Memphis Depay.
The 28-year-old has struggled with fitness issues this season and is approaching the final six months of his contract after being signed last summer from Lyon. Having only played two league games, Depay is behind Barcelona's other forwards and may look for a way out earlier than June 2023.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Depay is being offered around to clubs across Europe for just £1.7million. Chelsea themselves looked into the possibility of bringing him in over the summer as a late attacking import but nothing could be done.
The field looks just as clear now though, with the report continuing to say that nobody has come calling with an offer for the former Manchester United star, despite his impressive displays as Netherlands made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Arsenal are one of the sides that could look to take advantage but they are, it seems, yet to bite at the offer with it remaining there for clubs if they need some emergency January action.
Given Chelsea's struggles in that position and his stardom for Louis van Gaal's men in Qatar, albeit most commonly as a substitute, Depay could yet emerge as another cheap option that Potter looks to for security heading into the rest of the campaign.
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