Borussia Dortmund have an interest in signing Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka on a loan deal with an option to buy in the January transfer window.
In this week’s Transfer DealSheet, The Athletic reported that the 21-year-old has generated interest from clubs in the Premier League, Germany and Italy, but that Chelsea have made it clear that they would only consider a permanent sale.
The only loan that Chelsea would consider for Chukwuemeka would be to Strasbourg but that will require one of Caleb Wiley, Djordje Petrovic or Andrey Santos to end their spells at the Ligue 1 club because they can only take three loans from Chelsea. Both clubs are owned by multi-club ownership group BlueCo.
Chukwuemeka joined Chelsea from Aston Villa in the summer of 2022 for a £20million ($25m) fee. He made 15 appearances during his first season but a knee injury that required surgery limited him to only 12 games the following campaign.
His contract at Stamford Bridge runs until 2028.
He has found game time hard to come by at Chelsea and has been low down on the midfield depth chart. Head coach Enzo Maresca, who joined the club in July, said in September that he advised Chukwuemeka to leave the club in the summer to get more first-team football.
Chukwuemeka has only made five appearances this season, with four of those coming in the Conference League and one in the Carabao Cup. His sole start came in Chelsea’s 3-1 league-phase win over Astana in December.
He is yet to receive a senior international cap though he has made appearances for England through the under-17 to under-20 level.
Dortmund, who are sixth in the Bundesliga standings, return to action on January 10 at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
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Freakish injury curtailed Chukwuemeka’s Chelsea career
It has been a bleak 18 months for Chukwuemeka, who appeared primed for a breakout Premier League season when he followed up a positive preseason with an excellent goal against West Ham United at London Stadium in August 2023.
Chukwuemeka sustained a freakish knee injury in the same game that sidelined him for several months and by the time he was fit to return, Chelsea had found attacking midfield inspiration elsewhere — chiefly in emerging superstar Cole Palmer.
Last summer Maresca made it clear that Chukwuemeka would be best served finding another club where he can play regularly. Chelsea’s preference to sell fits with their bigger push to extricate themselves from many of the signings they made in the summer of 2022, a window that the club’s ownership would rather forget.
Liam Twomey
Chukwuemeka has found game-time hard to come by under Maresca at Chelsea this season (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)
Chukwuemeka would fit Dortmund’s missing profile
There is no question that Dortmund’s midfield has lost some of its verve, or that the time is right to rebuild it around Felix Nmecha, who promises to grow into an outstanding No 6. Pascal Gross, who arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, is 33, while Emre Can turns 31 in a week.
Other parts of the side are decorated with developing talent. Jamie Gittens (20) has established himself on the left of Nuri Sahin’s attack, while Julen Duranville (18) recently started his first game for the club on the right, against Barcelona in the Champions League. Giovanni Reyna (22) has also re-emerged and is suddenly in favour with Sahin.
Chuckwuemeka fits the profile of what they need — young, talented, only likely to improve and suited to a box-to-box role — but is just one of several options that the club are considering and at a time when finances are relatively tight.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
