There was a sense of relief as Chelsea got back to winning ways in the Premier League on Monday. Enzo Maresca needed it, the players needed it, and Stamford Bridge needed it.

The 25-minute spell between scoring the opener and then retaking the lead in the second half is further evidence of just why the Chelsea manager was so keen to push back on title talk last month. This team are still not in a position to perform at the consistency of a true force yet.

What Chelsea do have is a selection of talented players. They still need moulding and forming into something. That was the case 12 months ago and although there is a shape coming through it isn't the final picture. Maresca is the man challenged with making it all gel together.

Here, football.london analyses just how the club are planning to help him in January window with a look at the latest headlines and stories from around the market.

Delap leaders

Chelsea are seen as leading the race to sign Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap this summer. According to Ben Jacobs, they are in pole position to land the forward even if no January deal is possible.

It is explained that Manchester City aren't likely to trigger his buy-back clause and that an exit later this year is still realistic. The Tractor Boys understandably aren't keen on letting their talisman go in the middle of a relegation battle, though.

Chelsea were linked to Delap last year but instead only signed teenager Marc Guiu. His form may well see a price tag extend way beyond the £35million quoted in 2024.

Already at Chelsea the lack of senior centre forward outside of Nicolas Jackson has started to hurt Maresca in recent weeks with no reasonable backup option. Christopher Nkunku, who is of interest to Bayern Munich, will not be allowed to leave unless a strong replacement, either a No.9 or winger, is found.

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football.london says: Jackson has earned the tag of being Chelsea's main and first-choice striker. What hasn't changed since his arrival is a severe absence of genuine cover for his position.

Last season, it was Armando Broja coming back from injury and Christopher Nkunku, but neither were able to offer any sort of decent support. Jackson, never signed to really be playing as the main man initially, has had to carry a heavy load ever since.

He needs a senior figure around him to take the weight off his shoulders. Think Olivier Giroud to Tammy Abraham in 2019/20. This goes outside of Chelsea's transfer strategy, though, and is unlikely to come.

Instead, the dynamic that having two competitive and improving early twentysomethings would provide is interesting but not necessarily conducive to positive progression moving forward. That is the method Chelsea look to be choosing, though, and Jackson will surely prefer to have that rather than nobody to help him out at all.

Felix offers

Teams across Europe looking into the possibility of signing Joao Felix on loan this month. It is Jacobs again who writes that the attacker is drawing attention from those outside of England.

He has recently been linked with a move away from Chelsea after failing to make much of an impact since his £45million summer transfer. He was only used as a late substitute in the 3-1 win over Wolves on Monday.

Milan have been touted as one of those who could offer Felix an escape route, although they have bigger priorities in the form of Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker. Chelsea and Felix are expected to assess his future on a more permanent basis at the end of the season.

football.london says: Felix definitely has more to offer Chelsea than he has been allowed to show. However, it is clear that Maresca doesn't really trust him to have any meaningful part in the season.

The 25-year-old is now over six seasons removed from being the £111million player Atletico Madrid purchased from Benfica and is no clearer in just what he wants to be or how he goes about making a true name for himself. It is no great surprise that Chelsea, who are a team stockpiled full of something attackers, haven't transformed him into a lethal part of the squad.

Felix is more than capable of operating more regularly than Maresca has used him but it says a lot that he simply isn't being turned to at all. Chelsea made a mistake in bringing him back to Stamford Bridge and would be wrong, again, not to explore opportunities around moving him on.

After the surprise of a six-month loan for over £10million in January 2023 - not to mention the debut red card and shambolic scenes that followed - Chelsea and Felix have provided enough of a saga. Bringing him in again has extended that but maybe not for long.