Trevoh Chalobah's withdrawal from his season-long loan at Crystal Palace was being discussed and ahhh until finally, Chelsea's fifth Premier League game without a win forced Enzo Maresca to nudge the 'Break glass in case of emergency ' in his office in Cobham.
We'll get to Maresca's next priority: fixing the front line after four goals scored on 85 shots during this winless month, but on Wednesday Chelsea took a significant step to address their problems in defense.
Josh Acheampong is a talented defender, only 18 and one of their own from the Cobham conveyor belt, but the academy youngster was exposed by Antoine Semenyo during Tuesday's 2-2 draw against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
Semenyo scored when he jumped into Acheampong's side, and was asked to replace Levi Colwill amid injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.
Chelsea had to rely on Reece James to bury a free-kick in stoppage time to avoid losing to a Bournemouth team so depleted that they themselves had to call up two loanees from Carlisle, who are bottom of the Football League, to fill his bench.
Chalobah's return presented Palace with a curve ball ahead of their trip to Leicester, a game they would otherwise have started. While Maresca will face ridicule for such an abrupt U-turn (after a summer in which Chalobah was told he couldn't train with Chelsea's first team at Cobham because he didn't meet the requirements), we could also praise the 44-year-old Italian for swallowing his pride. It is the sensible move and the most appropriate short-term solution they could have hoped for, given their preparation for the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca needs to fix Chelsea's failing front line after five winless league games
The Blues have scored just four goals in their last 85 attempts on goal.
Trevoh Chalobah has been recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, and Chelsea will now focus on strengthening their attack.
Chelsea have closely monitored Chalobah's performances, through their loanee Carlo Cudicini, and took into account that the 25-year-old youth academy product would not require an adaptation period like that required for a new signing.
It was a phone call from co-sporting director Paul Winstanley that helped convince Chalobah that returning was right for him. The player himself visited the away dressing room after Chelsea played at Selhurst Park earlier this month and, more importantly, Mail Sport was told that Chalobah expressed his willingness to return for the second half of the season after that the idea of withdrawing it was initially broached.
With 19-year-old Argentine Aaron Anselmino also recovered from his loan to Boca Juniors to get used to life in England, Chelsea have added cover against defensive deficiencies. Next, their focus is expected to turn to attack, with a familiar pattern emerging in the Premier League of late.
Apparently there is something called the 'roasted potato scene' in showbiz. It's the shot right after lunch, when TV producers can tell their talent is still sluggish from the overindulgence that preceded the cameras rolling. Some of Chelsea's performances in the second half of the last month have made one wonder if potatoes are offered alongside the oranges on the dressing room table.
Too often their good work in the first halves has gone unrewarded and has led to surrender in the second half. They went into half-time leading Fulham 1-0 and then managed to lose 2-1. They led 1-0 at Palace and then drew 1-1. They led 1-0 against Bournemouth, then lost 2-1 and relied on James to score from 25 yards to draw 2-2.
The common theme in those particular outings was that Chelsea should have been out of sight at half-time, and Maresca bemoaned their lack of ruthlessness both publicly and privately.
There will come a time when an opponent will take a real beating (and the next visitors to Stamford Bridge this Monday will be Wolves, who have the worst defensive record in the Premier League and conceded six to Chelsea at the start of the season), but the Growing consensus among fans is that they are down to a next-level striker.
That does not mean that I have anger towards Nicolas Jackson, far from it. The 23-year-old may not have scored during this five-game winless streak, but he is highly regarded at Chelsea for leading the press out of possession, and provided an admirable assist for Cole Palmer to open the scoring against the Bournemouth.
Chelsea are happy with Nicolas Jackson's progress but want someone to challenge him for his place
Chelsea are closely monitoring Liam Delap, who has had a great season at Ipswich
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It is a heavy burden that falls on the shoulders of Jackson, who has needed Maresca to lift him when he showed his displeasure with his own performances in the locker room. He still has nine goals in 19 Premier League games this season (only eight players have more) and that's a useful total alongside Palmer's 14.
But Jackson could do with more help, with Christopher Nkunku failing to provide adequate competition when asked to operate as a centre-forward and Marc Guiu, a blossoming 19-year-old who arrived for £5m from Barcelona in the summer.
Chelsea have been linked with a list of forwards as long as David Brooks' arm hitting Marc Cucurella midway through Tuesday's disappointing draw against Bournemouth. There's Liam Delap, Victor Osimhen, Ivan Toney, Mathys Tel, Benjamin Sesko, Jhon Duran, Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and more.
Delap, who is one goal behind Jackson in the Premier League this season despite playing in an Ipswich team battling relegation, is a striker Chelsea are keeping a close eye on, and Maresca surprised some by not hiding his admiration. He waxed lyrical when asked by Mail Sport about the Manchester City academy graduate ahead of their trip to Portman Road last month.
If Chelsea sign a striker, whether this window or in the summer, they want someone who will act as direct competition for Jackson, not as a back-up.
Now that Chalobah is back in blue, conversations in the Chelsea sphere can only be directed to the other end of the pitch. January is considered a more expensive time to do business, but the Blues have to decide if it is better to act now or wait.