Chelsea Transfer Ban Lifted: With their Transfer embargo revoked, who will Frank Lampard aim to bring to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea now have the freedom to add to their squad after their two-window transfer ban was halved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport; an announcement confirmed today. With the club going through the summer with the ban, they have now served their punishment in full.
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Chelsea were sanctioned by FIFA for breaching 19 of its regulations on the status and transfer of players, which concerns the protection of minors. The club were also found to have breached article 18, concerning third-party influence.
Chelsea Transfer Ban Lifted
The Blues lodged an appeal in April but failed to overturn the decision. Chelsea then decided to take their case to the CAS. Following a review, the court decided that while Chelsea were guilty of the violations, the severity was not as grave as attributed to them.
The statement from CAS read:
“The Sole Arbitrator found that [Chelsea Football Club] did violate Articles 19.1 (related to the international transfer of minors) and 19.3 (related to the first registration of minors) of the RSTP, but for a significantly smaller number of players (about 1/3 of the violations found by FIFA).
“In addition, the violations of other RSTP rules were found to be less serious than those attributed to Chelsea FC by FIFA.
“Accordingly, the Sole Arbitrator reduced the sanction to one single transfer ban (which Chelsea FC already served during the 2019 summer registration period), and halved the monetary sanction.”
Who could Frank Lampard buy in January?
Frank Lampard has led Chelsea successively despite being handicapped by the transfer embargo. In the absence of key incomings, the youngsters in the squad have rose to the occasion. They have performed out of their skins throughout the season so far.
However, Lampard has previously spoken off wanting to add to his squad and will now have his wish come January. Several Chelsea fans would love for the club to go through the season with the youngsters. There are some spots in the starting XI and the squad that need improving though.
Centre-back
Kurt Zouma and Fiyako Tomori have formed an impressive centre-back partnership for Chelsea this season. Having let go of David Luiz in the summer and both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen missing out on several matches through injuries, the young Tomori has taken on the defensive duties for his side and has performed admirably well.
Zouma has also improved significantly for Chelsea this season to help negate the absence of both Rudiger and Christensen. With Rudiger and Christensen both fit now, Chelsea are in a much better place defensively, than they were at the beginning of the season. However, Chelsea have still conceded goals at an alarming rate this season. Despite the progress of both Tomori and Zouma, Chelsea will serve themselves will if they add experience to their squad.
There have been talks of Chelsea’s interest in bringing back Bournemouth central defender Nathan Ake. His buy back clause allows them to purchase him for £40m. The Dutch centre-back has grown to become one of the best defenders in the Premier League since leaving Stamford Bridge to join Bournemouth permanently in 2017. It’ll be interesting to see if Chelsea decide to bolster their defence in January.
Left-back
Perhaps the only spot in Chelsea’s squad that actually needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. Lampard has two options in the Left back, Emerson Palmieri and Marco Alonso. Palmieri has overtaken Alonso in the pecking order and for good reason. The Spaniard simply does not offer enough defensively.
When put against quality wingers, Alonso is found wanting. This has forced Lampard to play his captain Cesar Azpilicueta on the left while teenager Reece James plays on the right. The fact of the matter is that Chelsea have two left back options; one of them is injured and Lampard does not think that the other is good enough.
Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell has emerged as one of the best players in his position this season. He would make Chelsea a much better side should he arrive at the Stamford Bridge. However, it is highly unlikely that either Leicester or Chilwell will want to part ways in the middle of a fantastic season for the Foxes where they’re currently second in the table.
The other option that Chelsea can consider is Valencia full-back Jose Gaya. However, it is likelier that if the Blues fail to secure the services of Chilwell in January, they will wait until the summer before they can resume their pursuit of Leicester’s star left-back.
Winger
Chelsea have some very good options in their wings in Callum Hudson-Odoi, Pedro, Willian and Christian Pulisic; the latter two of whom have performed very well for them this season. However, with Pedro and Willian nearing the end of their contracts and neither having penned a new deal yet, the Blues may be on the look for a new arrival on the wings.
Both Pedro and Willian are also closer to the end of their careers and Chelsea will need to look ahead at new long-term options. Some names linked with Frank Lampard’s side are Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and Borussia Dortmund wantaway Jadon Sancho.
Both of them however, will cost a huge chunk of money. Dortmund are reportedly demanding at least a 100 million for Sancho. However, apart from Pedro, all their wingers appear to be performing well and are content with their role at Stamford Bridge. Which means that there is no urgency regarding this position at the moment.
Striker
Now this one is an interesting position to fill. Chelsea have not had a prolific striker in their ranks since Diego Costa. Olivier Giroud has served Chelsea well but it is clear that he does not fit Lampard’s style of play and is almost certain to leave in January.
Michy Batshuayi is an excellent back up option and Tammy Abraham has been very excellent for Lampard. However, there is no one in the team that is good enough to come in and take his place should he get injured.
With Abraham in red hot form, it is unlikely that Chelsea for go for a new first choice striker. They will have to look at someone that is good enough to keep Abraham on his toes while remaining content with playing a back up role just as Garbriel Jesus does for Manchester City or Divock Origi does at Liverpool.
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