Transfer Centre

How Chelsea could line up with Zaha, Werner, Chilwell after £150m spending spree

By Barney Corkhill, EditorPublished: 05 November 2019 5:19 PM

Sports Mole looks at how Chelsea could line up if they land their top targets, including Wilfried Zaha and Timo Werner, during a reported £150m January spending spree.

Chelsea's appeal against their transfer ban will be heard later this month, and the possibility of it being revoked has already raised speculation that a January spending spree could be forthcoming.

The Blues were unable to sign any players during the summer, forcing manager Frank Lampard to trust in youth - an approach which has proved fruitful, with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori emerging as key players.

As things stand Chelsea will also be banned from bringing in any new faces in January, but they are hopeful that the suspension will be reduced from two windows to the one which they have already served.

Reports suggest that Lampard could have as much as £150m to spend if the embargo is lifted, thanks largely to the summer sale of Eden Hazard.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how they could line up should they land some of their rumoured top targets.

The likes of Wilfried Zaha, Ben Chilwell and Timo Werner are all thought to be on Chelsea's shortlist of potential signings, and all three would likely go straight into Lampard's starting XI.

Should Werner join then there would be fierce competition for the centre-forward role, with the Germany international having scored 13 goals in 15 appearances for RB Leipzig this season, including nine goals in 10 Bundesliga outings.

Abraham is not far off those figures himself - 10 in 16 games across all competitions and nine in 11 Premier League matches - but the experience of Werner, who has been a Bundesliga regular for more than six years and earned 28 Germany caps despite being only 23, would give him the edge.

If reports are to believed then Zaha could well end up being the most expensive of their rumoured targets, and the Crystal Palace winger would form a pacy and exciting trident alongside Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi just behind the striker, with able back-ups such as Christian Pulisic, Willian and Pedro.

Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri have swapped in and out of the team so far this season and so Chilwell would be hopeful of moving above both in the pecking order, particularly in his current form having helped Leicester City to a higher spot than Chelsea in the table.

The London outfit have also been linked with a move for in-demand Borussia Dortmund attacker Jadon Sancho, although with Real Madrid and Manchester United also in the running for his signature it would most likely take the bulk of Lampard's £150m warchest to win that race.

There is plenty of talent in the existing Chelsea squad too, of course, and any new recruits coupled with returns to fitness for the likes of N'Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger could leave Lampard with a fearsome starting XI plus plenty of strength in depth should the Court of Arbitration for Sport rule in their favour on November 20.