What a quiet January transfer window for Chelsea FC! What was Todd Boehly doing?! Or are he and his Clearlake Capital cronies finally taking FFP seriously? One deal was done on deadline day, but it was a not an incoming, but an outgoing- striker Armando Broja headed to fellow southwest London club Fulham, on loan for a small fee.
Interesting enough, the team Fulham beat out to get Broja is Sunday’s opponent, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Armando Broja will spend the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Fulham.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 2, 2024
Chelsea FC vs Wolves FYIs
Kick: Sun. Feb 4, 2pm, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 59% Wolves 18% Draw 23%
PL Form: Chelsea LWWWL 10th, 31 pts Wolves LDWWW 11th, 29 pts
Broja being sent away was supposed to be a part of a big push to spend big on a striker in the summer, (hint hint Napoli’s Victor Osimhen), but he wasn’t sold permanently. He’ll be back on the roster come end of the season.
Of course, if he tears it up, just a short distance down Fulham Road, then his transfer market value could soar, and then Chelsea uraise funds off a summer sale, so maybe that’s the plan here.
Chelsea FC Team News
So as we turn our attention from the transfer window back to the league, we see that Chelsea will, due to Senegal’s early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations, have striker Nicolas Jackson back in the squad. While he wasn’t re-integrated in time for the lopsided Liverpool loss, he is expected to start here.
Now for the bad news, Levi Colwill (tendon) is a doubt here after being absent in midweek.
And of course, you have the long list of longer-term injury absentees.
That list had been well into double digits, but now it runs seven deep, with Robert Sanchez (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (knee), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Reece James (thigh) and Romeo Lavia (thigh).
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.