Chelsea are currently on a poor spell that has set their title challenge back. The London side have been battling a raft of illnesses and injuries. With the season halfway gone, a few of their players are injured.
Ahead of their Boxing Day tie with Aston Villa, some of the injury worries for Chelsea include N'golo Kante, who made a quick recovery but is still some way from full fitness. Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner are out of commission due to injury and Covid-19. While Lukaku and Odoi should return soon, there is still no available date for Werner’s return.
Other players unavailable due to injury or Covid-19 include Kai Havertz, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ben Chilwell. With Chilwell out till the later part of January, Thomas Tuchel thinks it’s just right to get a cover for the full-back.
Chelsea eye Sergino Dest as Chilwell cover
With Ben Chilwell sidelined for a considerable period, Chelsea are on the lookout for cover in that wing with their gaze fixed on Barcelona defender Sergino Dest. Chilwell hurt himself in Chelsea’s 4-0 defeat of Juventus. The injury came in the Champions League group stage last month. The defender has been out of commission since, leaving the Blues short on that side.
According to reports, a £30 million move is in the offing for Dest. The Express reports that Chelsea are arranging a move that sees the American swap Los Blaugrana for the Blues. Chelsea plans to bid around £30 million for the full-back in January.
Barcelona are going through a financial crunch and need to offload some players in January. Sergino Dest is on the list of players that Barcelona intends to offload. It should make Chelsea’s chances of landing the full-back easy.
Sergino Dest joined Barcelona from Ajax last year for a fee that could rise to £22 million. The 21-year-old has featured 57 times for the Catalan giants, 16 of which have come this season.
Ahead of the Villa game
Chelsea will take on Aston Villa on Boxing day with their top-four status seriously under threat. Thomas Tuchel will once again have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to put up a team that would compete favourably with Villa.
Since the arrival of Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa have been having a fine run and will pose a challenge for the European champions. While Tuchel bemoans the growing injury list in his squad, Gerrard has remained confident with what he has.
The former Liverpool captain said that his young players have his trust. He further stated that the situation at the club is notal due to the prevailing situation, but he has no choice and will call on the fringe and academy players.
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