How Chelsea can line up under Frank Lampard after £150million January spree

According to The Sun, Chelsea have been given the green light to go forward with their transfer business in January by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the Blues won their appeal against the transfer ban imposed by FIFA.

The West Londoners were slapped with a two-window transfer embargo earlier in the year for breaching FIFA rules relating to the international transfer of minors, and their attempts to put the ban on hold yielded no positive results, with FIFA rejecting their initial appeal.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has now reduced Chelsea’s punishment to a one-window ban, which they have already served this past summer, and the Blues are free to register new players when the transfer window reopens in January.

Image result for roman abramovich — Roman Abramovich is set to hand Frank Lampard with a £150 million budget in January (Getty Images)

Frank Lampard has called upon the club’s academy prospects to cope with the transfer embargo this term, with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori all thriving at Stamford Bridge and earning themselves senior England caps.

However, with Chelsea now allowed to bolster their squad in January, a shift back to the old transfer model of bringing in world-class players powered by their cash-rich owner Roman Abramovich certainly looks like a possibility.

In wake of the withdrawal of the transfer ban, Abramovich is set to hand Lampard with a staggering kitty of £150million to allow him to bolster his squad in January. (Telegraph h/t Sun)

Image result for lampard — Lampard has called upon the club’s academy prospects to cope with the transfer ban this season (Getty Images)

Despite the club’s impressive start to the ongoing campaign that has been hallmarked with the rise of several homegrown starlets, Lampard certainly needs to make certain changes to his squad to challenge for silverware in the coming days.

To that end, the withdrawal of the ban with less than a month left to run before the January window comes as a piece of welcome news to the club faithful, who can now look forward to the arrival of some big-money marquee signings during the mid-season trading period.

Having said that, Lampard needs to be careful with how he goes about his business in January, given that making knee-jerk signings based on short-term goals could endanger the impressive progress that the club has made with the academy prospects at the forefront.

According to Express, Chelsea have identified Borussia Dortmund and England international winger Jadon Sancho as their No.1 target in January, although they have made it clear that they will not go forward and match the Bundesliga outfit’s £100million valuation of the 19-year-old.

Image result for jadon sancho — Jadon Sancho has emerged as Chelsea’s No.1 target in January (Getty Images)

With Eden Hazard no longer in the frame at Stamford Bridge and the likes of Willian and Pedro both out of contract in 2020, the Blues certainly need to bring reinforcements in the wide attacking areas and Sancho is someone who fits the bill perfectly.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed an incredible rise at Dortmund following his switch to the Bundesliga from the Manchester City youth setup back in 2017, and his impressive record means that he could slot straight into Lampard’s playing eleven on the right flank, with Christian Pulisic playing down the left in a 4-3-3 system.

Sancho, though, isn’t expected to be the only priority for Chelsea in January, with Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell also on the club’s radar as Lampard looks to find an alternative to the likes of Emerson and Marcos Alonso during the second half of the campaign. (h/t Express)

Neither Alonso nor Emerson has done enough to plug the gaping holes at the back and it is a no-brainer that someone like Chilwell would simply walk into Chelsea’s playing eleven at the moment.

Image result for ben chilwell — Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell has also been identified as a priority by Chelsea (Getty Images)

As per the report, Chelsea have also identified Ajax star Hakim Ziyech, Lyon striker Moussa Dembele, RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha as some of the other targets in January.

However, given that the wide attacking areas, as well as the left-back slot, are more in need of immediate investment, Sancho and Chilwell should be the club’s top priority.

Several others on that list fit the bill but the Blues can’t really expect to make wholesale changes in a single transfer window.

More Chelsea News

Here’s how Chelsea can line up with Jadon Sancho and Ben Chilwell after a £150million spending spree in January: