Chelsea make Andrey Santos & Lesley Ugochukwu's futures clear after January transfer decisions | OneFootball

Chelsea have made a decision on the short-term futures of Andrey Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu after entering transfer talks for midfielders in January, according to reports.

The Blues have been light in the middle of the park, with Romeo Lavia suffering another injury setback while Cesare Casadei is set to return to Serie A on a permanent deal.

Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer have been heavily utilised in Enzo Maresca's midfield, with the Argentinian missing Chelsea's win over Wolves on Monday night.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has failed to hit the ground running since arriving from Leicester in the summer, and with Casadei's departure, Chelsea look light in midfield.

A potential solution would be to recall one of Santos, who is on loan at Strasbourg, or Ugochukwu, who is spending the season at struggling Southampton.

Chelsea have now made a decision on the duo as Maresca's squad is set to become even shorter with the departure of midfielders.

Andrey Santos has been in fine form at Strasbourg, but will not be returning to Chelsea in January. / IMAGO / Panoramic by PsnewZ

Casadei is closing in on a move to Torino, while Carney Chukwuemeka is being linked with a Premier League loan as West Ham and Everton are interested.

Dewsbury-Hall has also been targeted by several clubs in Europe and the Premier League, but has so far not been allowed to seek a move.

Renato Veiga, who has played in midfield this season, is set to join Juventus for the rest of the season as he seeks game time in central defence, but it was during these negotiations that a potential solution emerged for Chelsea.

As reported by The Daily Mail, Chelsea asked about a potential loan move for former Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz, who joined Juventus last summer.

However, the Italian side are seeking a large loan fee if they were to see the Brazilian leave in January, something which Chelsea are not willing to consider.

Therefore attention turned to bringing in a replacement for the outgoing Casadei on a longer-term deal, and the Blues identified one of Serie A's up and coming midfield stars.

According to Sky Italia, Chelsea are pushing hard to complete a €15M deal for Hellas Verona midfielder Reda Belahyane.

The Blues have identified Belahyane to replace Casadei once his future is resolved and could look to complete the deal by the end of the winter transfer window.

With Chelsea already moving to sign Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg, with the 19-year-old joining at the end of the season, Belahyane could become Maresca's second Janaury signing, but the first to join up with his first team squad immediately.