Hello and welcome to your Chelsea transfer news update for the day. Both of these London sides are amongst the Premier League’s biggest clubs, and naturally, both teams are continually being linked with some huge moves during the January window. With less than a month to go before the window opens, the rumour mill is continuing to churn – and these are the main headlines from today’s news outlets regarding the Blues .
Lampard eyeing attacking reinforcements in January
The Guardian is reporting that Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is eyeing some attacking reinforcements during the January window, despite the strong form of 22-year old striker Tammy Abraham, who has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season.
The report suggests that the likes of Jadon Sancho, Wilfried Zaha, Timo Werner, Moussa Dembele and Fyodor Chalov could be on Lampard’s shopping list – although he’s only thought to have around £150m to play with.
Lampard has suggested that his side need to convert more of their chances – and are probably missing last season’s main goal threat in Eden Hazard, who departed for Real Madrid in the summer.
The Blues advanced into the Champions League’s Round of 16 yesterday with a win over Lille, meaning Stamford Bridge could be an attractive destination for any of the above-named players.
Will Chelsea’s spending spree affect their use of academy graduates?
After their transfer ban was lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week, many Chelsea fans were concerned that the club’s ability to spend money again could impact on their use of academy graduates. Frank Lampard has deployed the likes of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount to great effect thus far in 2019-20, and many Blues fans want to see that continue.
According to a report from Sky Sports, they don’t have a lot to worry about. Prior to the Champions League game with Lille, Lampard stated that it’d be an “easy conclusion” to jump to that Chelsea need to spend big following a couple of disappointing Premier League results, but that wasn’t necessarily the case, and this report backs that up.
Reportedly, Lampard has stated that spending wouldn’t hinder his young players because he believes in their quality, and he wants them all to continue to develop and improve. Good news for Chelsea’s up-and-coming academy talents such as Callum Hudson-Odoi, then.