Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole urged the Blues to beat Liverpool and Manchester United before signing Antoine Semenyo in January.
Only Liverpool spent more than Chelsea in the summer transfer window, with Enzo Maresca’s side lavishing more than £280m on talent.
Despite this, there are rumors that third-placed Chelsea are looking to put money into the January market again in a bid to consolidate their strong start to the Premier League season.
Cole believes Bournemouth winger Semenyo would be a great addition amid rumors that Liverpool and Manchester United are interested in making a winter bid for the Ghanaian international.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed earlier this week that Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his contract, which would leave Bournemouth helpless in the winter if the club triggered it.
And now Cole believes it would be a “no brainer” for Chelsea to make a move, although he joked that the 25-year-old may be too old for the Blues’ transfer policy.
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Cole told Paddy Power: “If you think about Chelsea, he might be too old! We’ll have to look at his age, but from a football perspective, if he’s available and he wants to come, it’s a no-brainer in terms of getting him to a football club.”
“Chelsea’s model has a financial element and a reputation element, so in the end that will be important.
“He will be a welcome addition to the Chelsea squad and will probably start, as he has had a great run at Bournemouth.”
Disgruntled Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola did not want to discuss the possibility of Semenyo leaving in January, which is currently in November.
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Iraola promised to speak about the matter soon and insisted Semenyo “remains our player” ahead of Saturday’s game against West Ham.
“We’re in November. Antoine is our player and will continue to be our player. In January, you can ask about the January market, but at the moment we’re not worried about the next market,” Iraola said at a press conference on Friday.
“This is especially, you know, I don’t want to talk about it in August, January, when the market is open, but right now is not one of those times. It’s November.
“I’m more worried about the situation of the players who will be playing tomorrow, the short term, what’s really important. Whatever happens, we’ll talk in January about the players we need. But that’s not what I’m worried about today.”
