Chelsea fans were likely hoping for more players to come through the door during the January transfer window, after it slammed shut on Monday.
The only permanent signing made was Mathis Amougou on deadline day, although the plan for him seems to be to move on loan before he makes his mark on the first team squad.
As always, the Blues were linked to a number of top talents to strengthen their squad, and many of those will crop up again at the end of the season.
Chelsea turned down signing Reda Belahyane in January
However, some opportunities have gone for now, with the player moving to another club last month, and this is the case for midfielder Reda Belahyane.
Chelsea were reportedly pushing hard to complete a deal for Belahyane, who was at Hellas Verona at the time, however he ended up joining Lazio late in January.
Former Verona president and now Advisor of Management, Maurizio Setti, stated that the Blues were keen to sign the 20-year-old, however their desire to sign the finished article saw them miss out on the signing.
He said to La Lazio: “Chelsea wanted to take him and we talked about it a lot, but they wanted a ready player, in the end, they didn’t consider him as such, too bad for them, Lazio was decided.”
Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have shared the bulk of the minutes this season, with Cesare Casadei one of the out of favour options who moved on in January.
Chelsea’s midfield plans after missing out on ‘aggressive’ Belahyane
Belahyane would have certainly brought some strength to the depth of Chelsea’s midfield, with him being highly rated already.
His former club, Nice, described him as: “a technical and creative player with the ball, aggressive and willing to win the ball back” and the injury woes of Romeo Lavia do seem to need to be addressed.
Chelsea believe they have the answer in house though with Andrey Santos. The Brazilian is currently on loan with Strasbourg.
The Blues believe Santos will be key for Enzo Maresca next season, and the time feels right for him to finally make his mark at Stamford Bridge.
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