The five players Chelsea are considering in January after season ending injury to star defender

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Chelsea have been hit with a potentially massive blow to their season after Ben Chilwell was diagnosed with suffering a cruciate ligament injury. 

The injury suffered by the Chelsea wing-back looks set to rule him out for the rest of the season, but Chelsea have five players in mind for who could replace the Englishman as part of their contingency plans.

According to Fabrizio Romano, three of these are set to be sourced from the transfer market while the remaining two are from internal sources already at the club.

Romano reports that Chelsea’s first choice target is out of favour Everton left back Lucas Digne, who has been frozen out of The Toffees squad after an argument with manager Rafael Benitez over Digne’s role and the tactics the club were using.

The Frenchman has widely been regarded as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League since he arrived, with his attacking ability and set piece proficiency something Everton have profited from numerous times before.

The next two choices come in the form of Sergino Dest and Nicolas Tagliafico, who play for Barcelona and Ajax respectively.

The former is one of the most exciting young full-backs in the world but has fallen down the pecking order since Xavi’s arrival in Barcelona. Furthermore, he is not a natural left-back, instead preferring to operate as a right-back – a position Chelsea are already fairly well covered in.

Meanwhile, the latter is a naturally left-sided player but is a wiser, more disciplined head than his counterpart due to his age.

The fourth option The Blues are considering is to recall Emerson Palmieri, who is currently on loan at Lyon in Ligue 1.

Emerson has been a decent enough squad player for Chelsea since he joined the club in 2018, making 71 appearances and scoring two and assisting five times during this stint.

Chelsea’s final option is to recall another loan player, but this time it could be in the form of 19-year-old Ian Maatsen, who is currently on loan at championship side Coventry, who are pursuing a playoff spot in order to help them get promoted at the end of the season.

Whatever option Chelsea choose to pursue, they will need to get it done swiftly to ensure they do not suffer from the loss of Chilwell for too long.

More Stories Ben Chilwell Emerson Palmieri Ian Maatsen Lucas Digne Nicolas Tagliafico Sergino Dest