With Antonio Conte’s debut season in the Premier League going as well as he could possibly wish for, life is nearly perfect at Stamford Bridge. Nearly perfect because of the falling out he has had with his star striker Diego Costa but for a club which is 7 points clear at the top then there can’t be all too many complaints from the Italian.
Many if not all clubs will be looking to add new faces to their squad in January and the question for Chelsea is whether or not they stick with they have got or do they also look to get in some extra personnel this month. The gap at the top may be a comfortable but Chelsea can’t necessarily afford to rest on their laurels as the chasing pack look to whittle that lead away.
So with that in mind let’s now look at three players who could be joining the league leaders within the next couple of the weeks
Adama Traore
With Chelsea looking lighter in the Midfield department after the departures of both John Obi Mikel and Oscar to China earlier in the month it is probably one area in which they could look for reinforcements and one player they are eyeing up to fill that gap is that of Adama Traore of Middlesbrough.
The 20 year old has only been at the club since the end of August after joining from Aston Villa on the final day of the Summer transfer window but with Chelsea now showing their interest it looks as if Traore’s stay at The Riverside Stadium may not be a particularly long one.
With Chelsea adopting a wing back formation this season it means that there is an extra emphasis on players with pace, that is something that Traore has in abundance and it’s for that reason that Antonio Conte is keeping a keen eye on him in regards to adding him to a squad already brimming with talent.
Traore may not command a first team place straight away if a move to Stamford Bridge was to be completed especially with Chelsea boss Conte seemingly liking to keep the same lineup where at all possible, but it’s that pace that would make Traore a very useful impact sub should the shape of a game need changing.
Fernando Llorente
The second name on our list is another player who only joined his current club last Summer but is already being linked with moving on. That’s because Chelsea are reportedly monitoring the movements of Swansea’s Fernando Llorenete.
In fairness it’s a potential move that has raised some eyebrows as Llorente’s contribution for Swansea has not been all that impressive. In the first half of the season he has just 5 goals to his name in this debut Premier League season, but although he is not setting the top flight ablaze with his goal scoring exploits there is method to this potential move.
That’s because it was Antonio Conte who bought the Spanish international from Athletic Bilbao to Juventus back in 2013 and in the season they spent together before Conte moved onto the Italian national job they would go on to win the Serie A title.
With Conte still reluctant to play Michy Batshuayi in the league this season he still feels he needs an extra forward regardless of the Diego Costa situation to complement his attack line. Wwith these two already having experience of working with each other, the a potential move for Llorente may actually make more sense than you think.
Jonas Hector
Another area that Chelsea may require cover in going into the second half of the season is that of the wing back areas. Although Victor Moses’ transformation to this position has been somewhat of a revelation there are still some doubts over Marcos Alonso.
Although Chelsea have been almost unstoppable so far this season, you get the feeling that should Conte be given the chance to further enhance his squad then he would not be one to turn down the opportunity in which to do so. That’s why Chelsea have been keeping close tabs on Jonas Hector of FC Cologne.
The 26 year old left back has spent the previous 4 and a half seasons at the Bundesliga outfit and during that spell his solid performances for the club have earned him 25 caps for the Germany, with Hector being a part of the squad that reached the Euro 2016 Semi Finals.
At Cologne he has previously operated as a playmaker and a defensive midfielder before eventually settling into the left back position that he possesses now for both club and country. Should he make a move to Stamford Bridge then it would not only enhance the wing back position but his versatility could be very handy asset for a squad looking to win back the Premier League title.