Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Midfielder departs on loan, Blues could sign Erling Haaland, and more - 18 January 2021 

Chelsea have completed the transfer of long-serving forward Lucas Piazon to Braga.

The Blues are now set to loan out a few more first-team players who are on the fringes of Frank Lampard's squad. Chelsea have also been linked with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, but there has reportedly been no development in this regard.

However, the outgoing transfers could create space for the club to break the bank again. On that note, we take a look at the top Chelsea transfer stories as on January 18, 2021.

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Chelsea's Danny Drinkwater joins Kasimpasa on loan

Danny Drinkwater has signed a loan deal at Kasimpasa.

Turkish side Kasimpasa have provided an escape route for Chelsea outcast Danny Drinkwater. The midfielder has signed a deal, albeit on a temporary basis, with Kasimpasa until the end of the season.

Drinkwater endured inconsistent spells plagued by injuries and issues off the field during his time at Burnley and Aston Villa while on loan from Chelsea.

The 2016 Premier League winner has only managed 23 appearances for Chelsea, with his Blues career going downhill after Antonio Conte was sacked.

Frank Lampard said about Drinkwater:

"It is great for Danny to leave and play games. I am not getting players out to bring them in."

Kasimpasa could be a great landing spot for an international who has struggled for minutes over a 2-3 year period.It is in Istanbul, a quality league but a slower pace of play to the big five leagues & a chance for Drinkwater to make a big impact as an important player. #CFC pic.twitter.com/GfoovBKKdi

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) January 18, 2021

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Chelsea could sign Erling Haaland for a record fee

Erling Haaland is one of the hottest properties in world football at present.

According to the Athletic, Chelsea could beat the rest of the pack to swoop in for Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland.

The star forward, who is one of the hottest properties in the transfer market, will have his £66.6 million release clause activated at the end of the season.

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all keeping an eye on Haaland, but Chelsea could offer in excess of £100 million to prise him away from their reach.

Erling Haaland has already smashed 12 goals in 11 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Chelsea are willing to break their club record to try and sign Erling Haaland this summer.They will make a big push to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer even though his release clause doesn’t come into effect until 2022.- @TheAthleticUK pic.twitter.com/bsQV4QIY1S

— Simon Phillips (@SiPhillipsSport) January 18, 2021

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Frank Lampard explains why he offloaded Fikayo Tomori

Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori is heading out on loan to AC Milan.

After making just one Premier League appearance all season, Fikayo Tomori finally seems to be heading out on loan, with AC Milan his most likely destination.

The Serie A giants will have an option to buy the Chelsea centre-back for £25 million.

While his long-term future at Chelsea remains doubtful with that inserted clause, Frank Lampard shed light on Tomori's situation, saying:

"I don't think there's any 'when did it start to go wrong'; Fikayo's a developing player. As a squad, we had four centre-backs last year, and you can't play four in one game."

He added:

"At one point Fikayo was in that, and then later on not so much. And this year, we have five centre-backs, so the predicament is difficult for centre-backs who are not playing regularly. And that's why he may go out on loan for his development; he's a young player, and he's had a huge rise in the last two or so seasons since I've been working with him, and that will continue, and we'll find the best path for that."

Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma are presently Chelsea's first-choice central defenders at the moment.