Chelsea were not fancied by many pundits to lift the Premier League crown this season following their mediocre 10th place finish last season. Manchester City were most people’s favourite for the title but it has been Chelsea’s Italian manager who has been the most impressive new Premier League boss leaving City’s Spanish boss Pep Guardiola in his wake.
As we approach the busy winter period in British football, Chelsea sit 3 points ahead of 2nd placed Arsenal and they are 6 and 7 points ahead of Liverpool and Man City respectively. The Blues stretched their winning streak to 9 games with their 1-0 win over West Brom on Sunday and are starting to make believers out of even their toughest critics.
The question is, do Chelsea need to add to their squad to push them over the edge and really give themselves all the fire-power they could possibly need to go on and win the Premier League? The answer is probably yes! Roman Abramovich has never been to shy to give his manager the funds he needs to bring in top players and it is hard to imagine the owner will be reluctant to sanction whatever transfer target(s) Antonio Conte wants to bring to the club now.
With the winter transfer window fast approaching and Chelsea’s title charge looking more and more likely to succeed, the club seem as though they will make a splash in the market and swoop to secure a serious player or 2. The current squad is doing the business at the moment but given the stakes signings are likely if Conte feels he needs them plus they will provide a statement of intent to rivals. Clearly some of the players below seem out of reach, but let’s not forget the size of the deals Chelsea have completed in the January transfer window before – Fernando Torres instantly comes to mind as he joined the Blues in a massive reported deal of £50 million back in 2011. Nemanja Matic also joined the Blues in January, signing from Benfica for a fee of £21 million in the winter of 2014. So Chelsea are prepared to make big signings in January as their history clearly demonstrates.
Some possible big-name targets with some clearly more likely than others include:
- PSG’s Uruguayan international striker Edinson Cavani
- Real Madrid’s Colombian international attacking midfielder James Rodriguez
- Juventus’ Italian international defender Leonardo Bonucci
- Atletico Madrid’s French international striker Antoine Griezmann
- PSG’s Italian international midfielder Marco Verratti
With Chelsea’s goal-keeping well-set, of the 3 areas Chelsea could look to strengthen it seems as though the central attack is the position where they could use some help. Diego Costa is having a truly sensational season as he has been leading the League in scoring from the outset but if he was to suffer an injury Chelsea would have to turn to the inexperienced Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi or the even less-experienced English striker 19 year old Dominic Solanke. While the Belgian is a goal-scorer as his 23 goals for Marseille last term confirm, he has limited experience in the Premier League as does Solanke who has even less experience.
Whether Antonio Conte feels comfortable only having Batshuayi as the main option behind Costa remains to be seen but given the way the season is developing for Chelsea they will surely move to add another striking option plus add depth in defence and in their midfield to protect themselves from the consequences of injury if Conte deems the moves necessary. Chelsea have never been restrictive on their managers in the transfer market even when it has been an interim boss so Antonio Conte will surely have the complete support of the Chelsea owner and Board meaning that we could well see a massive signing joining the Blues in the month of January.