Chelsea moved back up to fourth place in the Premier League on Monday night with their 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are now two points ahead of champions Manchester City, in fifth, and are four points behind Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in second and third.
Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Cucurella, and Noni Madueke all got their names on the scoresheet against Wolves, with two second-half goals needed after Robert Sanchez’s calamitous mistake left them drawing 1-1 at the break.
Enzo Maresca’s side are fighting for a place in the Champions League for the 2025/26 campaign and are well on track to achieve their goal, as they sit in fourth as it stands.
However, the former Manchester City assistant coach may want to give his team the best chance possible to finish in the top four by utilising the January transfer window to bolster his squad.
There are some deals, however, that the Blues, for a myriad of reasons, may decide to leave until the summer to get over the line, including one for a player currently contracted to one of their Premier League rivals.
Chelsea eyeing deal for Serie A star
According to a report in Italy, Chelsea have enquired about the possibility of a deal to sign left-back Nuno Tavares, who is currently on loan at Lazio from Arsenal.
The Portuguese defender is on loan at the Italian team but they have an obligation to make the deal permanent for a reported fee of around £7.5m at the end of this season.
This latest report claims that the Blues are now interested in a swoop to immediately snap him up from Lazio after they formally complete that obligation in the summer, which means that the Serie A side could make an instant profit on him ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
It reveals that Lazio are not currently looking to sell Tavares after they sign him permanently, but adds that they would be open to ‘unmissable’ offers for his services.
The report also reveals that Chelsea’s enquiry came during talks over a potential move to Rome for Cesare Casadei, which suggests that the Blues could give themselves an advantage in the race for the left-back by negotiating a reasonable deal for the Italian midfielder.
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It adds that other, unnamed, teams have also been attracted to the Lazio star’s form on loan in the Serie A this season, which means that the Premier League side may need to move quickly in the summer to get a deal over the line for the left-footed ace.
The Blues must, now, push to get a deal done at the end of the season because Tavares could be an excellent addition to the squad, given his form in the Italian top-flight this season.
Nuno Tavares' form this season
It is fair to say that his time in the Premier League did not go to plan the first time around, as he only started 18 matches in the 2021/22 and 2023/24 campaigns for Arsenal and Nottingham Forest combined.
Tavares was only young, though, at 21 and 23 respectively, and may have needed that experience to develop and improve as a player, by learning from his mistakes.
His form in the Serie A for Lazio so far this season suggests that he has turned a corner in his career and is now living up to the potential that Arsenal seemingly saw in him when they initially brought him to The Emirates.
The 24-year-old star, who has been described as “unstoppable” and “one of the signings of the season” by The Athletic’s James Horncastle, has caught the eye with his impressive performances in Italy this term.
Appearances (starts)
16 (15)
Big chances created
7
Assists
8
Dribbles completed per game
2.1
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.3
Duel success rate
53%
As you can see in the table above, Tavares has been an assist-machine for Lazio in the Serie A this season, with more than one assist every other start on average.
The £60k-per-week star could provide Maresca with a different type of left-back option next season, with Cucurella capable of inverting into central areas, and Tavares able to bomb down the outside on the left flank to provide a creative threat when needed.
Signing that type of explosive, direct, left-back to play when the gamestate requires it would also supercharge current Chelsea forward Jadon Sancho on the left flank.
Why Nuno Tavares would supercharge Jadon Sancho
The Manchester United loanee, who is due to join permanently in the summer, would thrive alongside an attack-minded left-back who wants to get down the outside to provide crosses and passes into the box, for several reasons.
Firstly, Sancho is a fantastic link player who makes good decisions on the ball and plays the extra pass under pressure, which could allow him to find Tavares in space on the flank on a consistent basis.
Also, as you can see in the clip above, the England international has the potential to come infield off the left to provide a goal threat cutting in on his right-foot.
Having a left-back, like Tavares, who causes opposition defenders problems and forces them to mark him tightly could mean that there is more space for Sancho to drift inside to create more shooting opportunities for himself.
Cucurella has only provided one assist and made 0.5 key passes per match across 20 appearances in the Premier League this season, which shows that he does not offer that kind of threat in the final third to help Sancho in that respect.
Therefore, the signing of Tavares could supercharge the Englishman’s Chelsea career by providing him with a teammate who can make the most of his passing and technical qualities, as well as opening space for him to add more goals to his game.
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