Chelsea are reportedly considering withdrawing centre-back Trevoh Chalobah from their ranks loan with Crystal Palace to help their defensive problems.
Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are out due to long-term injuries, although the latter called into question the public belief of manager Enzo Maresca that he could be out for the entire season.
The limited options available to Maresca led him to turn to 18-year-old Josh Acheampong, who blinded on the side of the palace he is unable to throw out Chalobah for the weekend.
Earlier it was argued that ChelseaThe loan deal with Palace does not include a break clause, but The Athletic now suggest otherwise and state that the Blues are considering a return for Chalobah this month.
Chelsea already is he brought back summer signing Aaron Anselmino from loan with Boca Juniors to strengthen at the back and could do the same with Chalobah, who has caught the eye under Oliver Glasner in south London this season.
Key to the Blues’ thinking could be Chalobah’s versatility. Although a natural centre-back, the 25-year-old has plenty of experience on both the right side of defense and in midfield, meaning he could play a number of roles in Maresca’s fluid line-up.
Bringing Chalobah back to Stamford Bridge would be significant as was the academy graduate kicked off the team during the preseason as part of a plan to sell him for a net profit under pressure from PSR, stripping him of his squad number and sending him to train with the famous ‘bomb squad’, before a loan move to Palace emerged late in the summer transfer window.
That decision was met with real controversy, not only because of Chalobah’s domestic attachment to the club. The 25-year-old played an important role in the second half of last season under former boss Mauricio Pochettino and was a key part of Chelsea’s rise from 11th to sixth in the table.
Chelsea signed Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer in the summer and the former Fulham man, along with Axel Disasi, pushed Chalobah into the fold before Palace offered him the chance to restart his career.
READ THE LATEST CHELSEA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP
