The winter transfer period is over and Chelsea managed to pull some pretty smart moves. They secured the signature of one of the cheapest most efficient players in the Premier League, Demba Ba, who was brought in for £ 7.5 million after scoring 13 goals just this season for Newcastle. He is an excellent solution to replace Torres, at least for the rest of the season, as the Spaniard is still not doing well as far as goal scoring goes. Being signed during the first part of January, Demba Ba has already scored for the blues and looks like he is already in perfect tune with the other Chelsea players. He is now ranked number three in the 2012-2013 top Premier League scorers with 14 goals. He is followed by Frank Lampard and Juan Mata, both with 9 goals this season. Torres ends up short again being unable to justify his huge transfer fee and salary. The 27 year old signed a 3 ½ year contract just after Sturridge got the ok to leave for Liverpool. The English international had a pretty rough time adapting to Chelsea’s standards and didn’t do that well when playing for Bolton Wanderers, where he had to complete his year long loan. Chelsea sold the striker for £12 million which was more than enough to pay off Demba Ba’s release clause.
As far as transferring out players Chelsea decided to keep Frank Lampard after all, despite their obvious plan to go separate ways. The fact that the stand-in captain remains is probably influenced by the unsuccessful transfer campaign led by the blues, who are looking to improve on the middle section of the team by bringing in some young footballers to play there alongside Oscar, Ramires, Eden Hazard and Mata. The only midfielder that could have ended up at Stamford Bridge was Shakhtar Donetsk’s, Willian. It is still a mystery why the Brazilian chose to head for Anzi Makhachkala. He is just 24 years of age and had a lot of time to think about the financial aspects of his career, especially considering Chelsea’s offer was not that far off compared to the Russians’ contract. He was considered an excellent fit for the Blues especially with the 5 Brazilians that are already an important part of the team.
Chelsea was linked to another failed transfer during the winter transfer window. Bafetimbi Gomis was targeted by the blues according to Lyon’s chairman, Jean-Michel Aulas, who was not very pleased with the fact that their most valued player was being pressured into moving to another team. The transfer went under after Demba Ba signed on the 4th of January.
In other news, it appears Chelsea is going to try and bring Modric back to the Premier League. According to inside sources, the Croatian international is living a nightmare when it comes to Madrid and desperately wants do return. This is an excellent opportunity for Chelsea considering they have been chasing Luka Modric since he was playing for Tottenham. The 27 year old midfielder is seen as the perfect replacement for Lampard, who will probably have to leave the team at the end of the season.