Chelsea ‘in contact’ already to sign ‘very talented’ player they missed out on in January

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Chelsea’s January transfer window proved to be a relatively quiet one when it came to players coming through the door to bolster the squad.

Only a returning Trevoh Chalobah and young midfielder Mathis Amougou came in last month, with the latter likely to leave the club on loan when the season is over.

His place in the squad is going to be replaced by Andrey Santos. Chelsea believe the youngster will be a crucial player for Enzo Maresca next season after his very successful spell at Strasbourg.

• READ MORE: Why Moises Caicedo should be ecstatic that Enzo Maresca wants to make Andrey Santos important Chelsea player

Chelsea make contact over signing January target Dario Essugo

The Blues were linked to a number of players both for the present and the future during January, and it feels as if many will crop up in the summer as targets again.

One of those they were linked to very late on Monday was Dario Essugo. The teenager is currently on loan at Las Palmas from Sporting Lisbon.

The defensive midfielder was not brought in due to the arrival of Amougou, however it may not be long before the Portuguese star is a Chelsea player.

According to journalist Javier Rodriguez Pascual, the Blues are already in touch with the Liga Portugal side about signing Essugo at the end of the season.

He said: “Some things they told me these days – Chelsea in contact with Sporting Lisbon over Essugo.”

Who is Dario Essugo?

Essugo has racked up some very impressive stats after becoming a regular in midfield in La Liga this season.

It was reported that the teenager could have been available for a fee of £17m in January. This is a fee Chelsea have been comfortable to pay for stars of the future before.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has described Essugo as ‘very talented’ to Magg when in charge of him at Sporting.

His playstyle has been compared to club-record signing Moises Caicedo, arguably Chelsea’s most important player this season.

However, the Ecuador international’s integral part in the side means he has had to feature in every game he is available for, and injuries to Romeo Lavia have not helped with rotation options.