Expert: Enzo Maresca's priority revealed as Chelsea plan to spend big again
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Callum O'Connell
Thu 25 September 2025 21:30, UK
Chelsea are already putting plans in place for the January transfer window as Enzo Maresca was not completely satisfied by their summer spending.
Chelsea spent around £300million during the summer, securing big-money deals for the likes of Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho.
However, the Chelsea board and those behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge feel the squad is not complete, with scouts being instructed to keep close tabs on new targets.
Chelsea now have the Premier League’s third-largest wage bill, but are not being deterred from adding to that as they feel additions are still necessary.
Maresca has already identified areas of weakness in his squad just seven games into the new season, and will enter the transfer market to rectify those weaknesses.
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Former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, exclusively told Football Insider that Maresca’s side are showing no signs of slowing down in their ambitions to improve his squad.
Brown told Football Insider on 22 September that Chelsea have “no chance” of winning the Premier League unless they can address their defensive concerns.
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As a result, the former scout who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted the Blues are now prepared to reinforce their back line in January.
“We know Chelsea don’t mind spending big and it’ll be the case again in January,” he told Football Insider.
“From what I hear, the manager isn’t completely happy with his squad if you can believe it after how many player they’ve brought in already.
“There are still positions he wants to improve because they’re still not ready to challenge for the title.
“There’s a clear weakness in the team, there have been questions asked about the centre-backs and the goalkeeper, that tells you where their problems are.
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“Everything they do well in the final third gets undone because one of their defensive players makes a mistake and then they’re back to square one.
“So that’s going to be their priority, they want a new goalkeeper and they want to be more stable at the back, with new centre-backs on their radar as well.
“The scouts will already be working to identify those players, because that’s how Chelsea do things, they will buy the players they think can help them win trophies.”
Despite their excessive spending in recent years, Chelsea have no plans to slow down, and will do anything necessary to help Maresca push for more silverware.
Despite their busy summer window, Chelsea failed to strengthen in one key position, with Maresca now set to prioritise the addition of a new goalkeeper.
Brown told Football Insider on 23 September that Chelsea are planning to replace Robert Sanchez with scouts already tracking potential options for the January window.
Chelsea’s preparations to sign a new goalkeeper have come after Maresca revealed Sanchez is “far from where I want him to be” after another avoidable error.
[The Times]
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Meanwhile, AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan remains a target for Chelsea as they aim to strengthen in goal, despite having missed out on a summer move for his signature.
Chelsea saw an initial £10million bid turn down by Milan in June, as they stood firm on their £20million valuation with the Blues eyeing a deal before the Club World Cup.
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