Frank Lampard will assess the fitness and form of Antonio Rudiger before deciding whether to make a transfer move to try to take Nathan Ake back to Chelsea during the January transfer window.
And Lampard could also be forced to find a new forward, with Olivier Giroud poised to ask for a January move away from the club after Chelsea had their transfer ban halved, meaning they can sign players in the New Year.
Lampard has confirmed he will look to spend some of the £150m available to him in January, as the blues attempt to cement their place in the top four and progress in the Champions League.
Defence is an area of concern for Lampard, who has been without Rudiger for the first half of the campaign. The German is due to return from injury and how he does could have a bearing on the club’s transfer plans.
Having sold him to Bournemouth for £20m in 2017, Chelsea believe they can re-sign Ake for around £40m which is under his market value. The Dutchman was valued at £70m during the summer window, when Manchester United and City were in search of a defender.
Ake ticks a series of boxes for Lampard and Chelsea. He is left-footed and, as well as playing in the central defence, the 24-year-old can fill in at left-back and in midfield. He also qualifies as home-grown and would be eligible to play for the blues in Europe.
Olivier Giroud is believed to want to leave Chelsea in the January window to try to salvage his hopes of playing for France at next summer’s European Championships.
The 33-year-old has slipped down to third choice in pecking order at the club and struggled in a rare start in last weekend’s surprise defeat to West Ham.
A number of clubs in England and France are interested in Giroud, who is about to enter the final six months of his Chelsea deal, and he is ready to ask to leave now that the Blues can sign a replacement.
Lyon’s Moussa Dembele and Timo Werner are two strikers the blues have shown an interest in, but it is unclear whether or not they would be available in January.
Chelsea are also interested in signing a winger and a left back, but top targets such as Jadon Sancho and Ben Chilwell are unlikely to be available in the January window.
