Jody Morris is unsure whether Chelsea were seriously interested in Gianluigi Donnarumma or Marc Guehi this summer – but has no doubts that both players would have ‘enhanced’ Enzo Maresca’s squad.
The Blues spent just shy of £300million on new recruits over the course of the transfer window, with Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr all arriving through the doors at Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea’s hierarchy – keen to strengthen Enzo Maresca’s squad for the rigours of Champions League football – were credited with an interest in countless other high-profile players before the transfer deadline came and went.
Crystal Palace captain Guehi was among those heavily linked with a big-money switch to west London, just four years after he was let go by Chelsea.
However, Palace fended off interest from the Premier League’s elite, most notably Liverpool, to keep hold of Guehi until the end of his contract, which is due to expire in 2026.
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There were also loud calls amongst Chelsea’s fanbase for the club to find a new number one on the back of an error-strewn campaign for Robert Sanchez, with Mike Maignan and Donnarumma both reported to be targets.
But the Club World Cup winners refused to meet AC Milan’s £25m asking price for Maignan, while Donnarumma went on to sign for Manchester City in a deal worth £26m.
‘If you spoke to most people regarding Chelsea, those were the positions that they obviously think maybe looked like needed strengthening more than elsewhere,’ Morris, Frank Lampard’s former assistant at Chelsea, told The Sun.
‘But listen, at the end of the day whether Enzo Maresca felt that they needed changing or whether upstairs didn’t want to come through and support that, who knows?
‘But yeah obviously I think if you’re talking about two players in Donnarumma and Marc Guehi, you absolutely would go: I think they enhance most teams, not just Chelsea.
‘So whether Chelsea were in for both of them, who knows? They may have been and just might not have been able to get it over the line.’
Chelsea bounced back from a poor run of form to beat the champions Liverpool 2-1 before the international break – a result that moved the club up to seventh in the Premier League table.
Maresca’s men will be looking to pile yet more misery on an under-fire Ange Postecoglou when they return to action away to Nottingham Forest this weekend.
The Chelsea head coach will not be in the dugout at the City Ground after being shown a red card for his wild celebrations in the side’s dramatic victory over Liverpool.
‘It was a huge emotion,’ Maresca said after his sending off.
‘It’s my second season at Chelsea and it was the first time we won at home in the last minute.
‘Sending off? Many times football is passion, instinct. I probably didn’t have time to think. It was an instinctive reaction, but I think it was worth it.’
The Italian is serving a one-match suspension, meaning he will be allowed to return to the touchline for Chelsea’s next top-flight contest at home to Sunderland.
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