Five sensational signings Chelsea could make by the transfer deadline - and four they won’t

A few of the Premier League’s traditional big boys are going to be busy over the last few days of the transfer window, and Chelsea will be among them. They’ve got money to burn (or at least, owners that act like they do) and a magpie-like tendency to pick up every shiny object in sight. And, to be fair, some actual positional needs. So let’s take a quick spin through the rumour mill and see who they might well be buying – and also debunk a few deals that won’t be happening, whatever social media says.

Brennan Johnson - possible

We won’t write about every right-sided forward that Chelsea have been linked with today, because column inches are a precious resource and in any case, they’ve been linked with everyone with a pulse and a pair of football boots over the last couple of months. Of the rumoured deals that do sound plausible, however, a bid for Nottingham Forest’s Johnson is among the most plausible, although they will face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for his signature.

Johnson is an interesting player – a young man with a flashy highlight reel and some very important goals behind him, but with distinctly uninspiring underlying statistics. Johnson is a project and potentially quite a big gamble, but the upside is huge. What the odds are that he evolves into a player worth the mooted £50m price tag remains to be seen.

Raphinha & Ferran Torres - possible

Reports have started circulating that Chelsea are looking to set up a double-swoop for the Barcelona duo, both of whom have past form in the Premier League but have joined the ranks of expensive signings that Joan Laporta gets bored of after a year or two. Torres, to be fair, has started the season both in the starting line-up and on the scoresheet, but former Leeds United man Raphinha seems to be out of favour. No word on a price tag so far, but Barcelona’s suits seem to be in a permanent rush to sell players at a loss to fund their latest fancy acquisitions, so this seems like an eminently plausible rumour. Does Maurico Pochettino really want or need both? Probably not, but Todd Boehly absolutely loves a good winger.

Ansu Fati - possible

Some separate reports have Chelsea going back to the Nou Camp to make a play injury-hampered hyper-talent Ansu Fati, who is struggling to get regular first-team minutes after a string of knocks and crocks slowed down his progress. Fati is a massive talent, blessed with blistering pace and a bunch of skill, and while his track record of time spent on the treatment table is worrying, he’d be a gamble with a very high upside indeed. How plausible this one is, we really aren’t sure – I think we can at least assume that even Chelsea won’t buy all three Barcelona players – but Fati does seem keen to move on.

João Félix - possible

A rather surprising rumour that cropped up in the past few days is that Chelsea could go back in for former loanee Félix, who didn’t do much to impress at Stamford Bridge but seems to have the happy knack of failing upwards. Chelsea are in dire need of a number ten thanks to the serious injury sustained by Christopher Nkunku and Atlético Madrid are desperate to get rid, so there’s at least some chance that this one is grounded in truth. Intriguingly, reports in Spain suggest that Barcelona want the Portuguese player as well, and would fund it by selling some of those wingers to Chelsea. Which implies that they might have a tough time doing all of these deals at once, put it that way. We think this one is relatively unlikely but frighteningly plausible at the same time.

Jeremie Frimpong – not happening

A few reports have Chelsea going in for a right wing-back, amid skipper Reece James’ ongoing injury woes, and fleet-footed Bayer Leverkusen man Jeremie Frimpong is the biggest name the Pensioners have been optimistically linked with. Sadly for Chelsea fans, Xabi Alonso’s side have no interest in selling, with Sport Bible giving us a chuckle by reporting that the transfer fee offered would have to be “immoral” to make it happen – a nice addition to the lexicon of the transfer window. Not that Chelsea are averse to eye-watering splurge, of course, but they’ll likely be focusing on the forward line sufficiently that they won’t spend some insane amount just to upgrade on Malo Gusto. Probably not, anyway. This is Todd Boehly we’re talking about.

Emile Smith Rowe – not happening

A smart idea for a signing, stuffed by the fact that Arsenal have no intention of selling to a direct rival, even if the player in question is struggling for minutes following a lengthy injury lay-off last season. Much like Frimpong, the fee that would be required is likely to be prohibitive, and while Chelsea could really do with a number ten, the reports that they’re considering going back to Félix is a strong indication that this one has been taken off the table.

One vaguely intriguing wrinkle that’s cropped up in the Evening Standard is that Chelsea might offer a swap deal with Myhaylo Mudryk, who Arsenal were on the verge of signing before getting gazumped in spectacular and perhaps ill-advised fashion. The Ukranian hasn’t exactly set the world alight since arriving at Stamford Bridge and the Ukranian could definitely tempt Mikel Arteta into a trade, but the money spent on Mudryk and his colossal eight-year contract make this sound more like a pipe dream that a plausible deal.

Ivan Toney – not happening

This one cropped up this morning in the Independent and simply makes no sense whatsoever, especially at the touted £80m. Toney still has months left on his suspension for betting breaches and while Chelsea are in the market for a striker, a combination of the huge price for zero play time and an impressive start by Nicolas Jackson makes this very unlikely indeed to be true. In January? We can talk.

Darwin Nuñez – not happening

Yes, this really was a rumour. No, we don’t believe it. The life cycle of this bit of gossip is that some allegedly ‘in-the-know’ Twitter account reckoned Chelsea were making a bid, a couple of other websites picked it up for a giggle, and now we have to waste our breath on it. Liverpool won’t want to sell, Chelsea are unlikely to try. I guess deadline day always throws up one absolutely wild deal that nobody saw coming, but this one would be some distance off the reservation. We’re in ‘eat our hat if true’ territory, here.

So there we go – Chelsea need a striker and a number ten, so have mostly been linked with wide forwards. Which seems like a very Clearlake Capital way to go, so it’s eminently plausible that we’ll get to enjoy the sight of a succession of wingers lining up through the middle and hoping it all works out. There’s every chance that Chelsea have some more logical targets lined up that haven’t been leaked to the press, of course, and perhaps an old and seemingly dead rumour will spark back to life by the end of the week (Dušan Vlahović, anyone?) – but whatever happens, Chelsea will certainly be splashing some cash somewhere.