Chelsea may well get their transfer ban lifted before this coming January transfer window. And if they do, Chelsea coach Frank Lampard will be looking at strengthening his young squad.
The Blues have already confirmed their interest in signing wingers with the likes of Willian and Pedro both in their 30s. Players like Wilfried Zaha and England star Jadon Sancho are the names in the headlines. However, it is all good being linked with players to add to the current squad, but, departures may change the thinking of the potential incomings at the club.
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud hasn’t featured a lot this season and has had to watch his fellow club striker Tammy Abraham become Lampard’s main man leading the line. At 33, his time in a Chelsea shirt may be coming to an end where clubs from around Europe will be hoping to secure the Frenchman’s services.
Giroud needs regular football in order to get picked for the Euro’s in the summer, similarly so does Batshuayi. The Belgian international also needs to be a regular starter at his age where he still remains behind the Belgium all-time leading goal scorer, Romelu Lukaku.
If Giroud were to leave in January, and the transfer ban is uplifted, Lampard might be forced into signing a replacement. Most of the time in January clubs overprice their players so that they don’t lose their star men half-way through the season.
Moreover, where Chelsea reluctant to spend money in the summer, the club still has the funds from the sale of Eden Hazard to play with.
It is a hard ask for Lampard to put the burden on Abraham to score the goals for the whole season. The Chelsea boss will have to call upon Batshuayi and Giroud – if he stays, in matches where Abraham is out of form or if he picks up an injury.
For now, Chelsea have three top draw strikers who offer different styles of play which can benefit Lampard to change his tactics prior to matches. Nevertheless, the club will have their eyes on potential targets if a player were to leave the club this January.
