Chelsea earmark two positions that need strengthening in January

Chelsea have decided to strengthen centre-back and striker position in the January window

According to Simon Phillips of The Athletic (subscription required), Chelsea have decided to strengthen the centre-back and striker department with signings in the January transfer window.

The report also reveals that even before Armando Broja suffered the season-ending injury during the friendly against Aston Villa, the club planned to add a striker next month.

The club are also prioritising signing a left-footed centre-back who can play on the left-hand side of the three-man central defence. They agreed on personal terms with Josko Gvardiol in the summer and wanted to resume talks in January, but the Croatian is proving to be too costly.

As an alternative, the Blues are closing in on getting the services of AS Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile, who offers a similar profile to Josko Gvardiol.

Up front, Chelsea have signed young striker David Datro Fofana (20) from Norwegian side Molde. It remains to be seen whether the club will sign another striker or is this enough.

Before the start of the Boxing Day match-day, there was a reason why we were eighth in the Premier League table. We lack goals from the forward line (only 17 goals scored in total in 14 games). The back-line has looked aged and leggy at times.

If we go through the options, Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang haven’t looked like reliable candidates to lead Chelsea’s line and score bucket loads of goals.

At the back, Thiago Silva’s contract expires in the summer (Transfermarkt), and he is 38 now and may not go on forever. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta is 33 and not getting any younger, while Kalidou Koulibaly (31) has not settled in the Premier League yet.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea could be an option for Barcelona superstar Frenkie de Jong
• Transfer News: Chelsea register interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi
• Joe Cole urges Chelsea to make a bid for World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez

So, while clubs tend to do the majority of their business in the summer, it is high time Chelsea did not wait till that time and let this season peter out. The report says that the owners are not hesitant in flexing their purses next month. The club should make use of that and sign some players who can upgrade the quality of this squad.