Frank Lampard has enjoyed a fine start to life as Chelsea boss, with the west London side six points clear of their Champions League chasing rivals in fourth place.
Lampard’s bid to keep the Blues there come the end of the season has now been boosted by the fact he will be able to add to his squad in the January transfer window, with their FIFA ban overturned on Friday.
Chelsea successfully appealed their two-window transfer ban, with the The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) halving their ban and their financial sanction.
The Blues received the suspension after FIFA claimed there were 150 rule breaches involving 69 academy players over several seasons.
Lampard could now have a transfer war chest at his disposal from the start of next month, so what signings could the former Derby boss make to improve his team?
talkSPORT.com has listed five potential players who could arrive through the door at Stamford Bridge in early 2020.
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Jadon Sancho
The 19-year-old has been a revelation in Germany since deciding to leave Manchester City in July 2017, with his meteoric rise to stardom earning him a first England senior cap last October.
Sancho enjoyed a blistering 2018/19 campaign where he scored 12 goals and registered 14 assists in the Bundesliga.
And he’s followed that form up with yet more impressive numbers this term, notching five goals and six assists in 11 Bundesliga appearances in 2019/20.
However, despite that the youngster is reportedly unsettled in Germany, with Sancho left ‘humiliated and scapegoated’ by the club’s treatment of him.
He was slapped with a £86,000 fine and dropped for one game after returning late from international duty in October, before manager Lucien Favre hauled him off after just 36 minutes of Dortmund’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat by fierce rivals Bayern Munich last month.
Should Sancho decide he wants to leave Dortmund, he will not be short of suitors with recent speculation suggesting Chelsea are ‘confident’ of landing him in either January or next summer.
The Blues would certainly have to open their cheque book for this to be a realistic proposition though, with the Bundesliga giants expected to command a fee in the region of more than £100m.
Goal claim Sancho’s close relationship with both Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who he grew up with in London, could also prove a big factor in his decision.
Of all the names of this list, Sancho is the one Chelsea should go all out to get – if, of course, the transfer becomes a realistic proposition.
Wilfried Zaha
The Crystal Palace forward’s future has been a hot topic of speculation throughout the last couple of transfer windows.
Both Arsenal and Everton had bids for the 27-year-old turned down in the summer, as Palace dug their heels in and kept hold of their prized asset.
With that said it looked a matter of when, not if, Zaha departs Selhurst Park with the former Manchester United man desperate to ply his trade in the Champions League – a dream he could realise at Stamford Bridge.
The Independent claim the Ivory Coast international’s agent, Federico Pastorello, has spoken with Chelsea’s director of football, Marina Granovskai, about the prospect of making a deal happen.
While the report states this is looking towards a potential transfer next summer, this could end up being fast-tracked with the Blues wary of other interest in Zaha – whose current deal runs out in the summer of 2023.
Lampard is not short of options on the wing, with Christian Pulisic joining from Borussia Dortmund and Callum Hudson-Odoi recently committing to a new long-term contract.
But in Zaha you have one of the trickiest and skilful operators in his position in the top-flight, and the opportunity to sign him could be too big to turn down.
Ben Chilwell
Bolstering his left-back options is now high on Lampard’s list of priorities.
Neither Emerson Palmieiri or Marcos Alonso have done enough to date to convince the Blues boss they are a long-term option, thus reinforcements are needed.
Leicester’s Ben Chilwell would be the perfect signing for the Blues, but like the aforementioned Sancho and Zaha he wouldn’t be cheap – with the Foxes expected to hold of a fee in the region of £70m.
Valencia’s Jose Gaya is another option, but Chilwell is very much the club’s first option if they are given the green light to get the deal done.
Nathan Ake
There’s no denying that the Blues have been a bit wobbly defensively, particularly at centre-half.
And they could well turn to a familiar face to add much needed stability and proven quality in that area.
Chelsea sold Ake to Bournemouth back in 2017, with a £40million buy-back clause stipulated in that deal.
Piet de Visser, Roman Abramovich’s private scout for several years and still now a part-time employee at Chelsea, urged the Blues to take advantage of that just last month.
“Ake should be playing at Chelsea now. He’s so good. He has timing and insight,” he said.
“I hope they buy him back. That boy is crazy about Chelsea and he has played with [Frank] Lampard.”
With other top-flight sides linked with making a swoop for Ake, including Liverpool, Chelsea would be fools not to activate the buy-back clause and get the deal done in January.
Fedor Chalov
With Olivier Giroud seemingly on his way out of Stamford Bridge in January, Chelsea are certain to add a striker to their ranks when the transfer window reopens.
Tammy Abraham has been a revelation for Lampard, carrying on his goalscoring exploits after a successful loan spell at Aston Villa in 2018/19, scoring 12 goals already this season.
Michy Batshuayi appears no more than a back-up for the Blues, thus Abraham needs some genuine competition up top for his position.
Lyon’s Moussa Dembele has been closely monitored while Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson has also been targeted in the past – however both would come with hefty price tags.
The Blues are reportedly monitoring CSKA Moscow frontman Fedor Chalov, a Russia international with two caps to his name.
Sky Sports say Chelsea owner Abramovich is a big fan of his fellow countryman, while
Crystal Palace also remain in the hunt for the 21-year-old.
The Eagles had several bids rejected for Chalev in the summer, with their final offer of £23m being knocked back on deadline day.
CSKA are anticipating that Chalov could make an exit during the winter break and are already looking at replacements
