Just who should the Stamford Bridge side look to land come the new year …?
Despite the summer transfer window having just closed for business for 2012, it will not be long before it once again reopens and you can be sure that big-spending Chelsea will be targeting a number of players at the turn of the year to help further strengthen their already powerful looking squad.
And these are five possible new recruits that returning Blues head coach Jose Mourinho would do well to consider making a move for come in January:
Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
It is hardly a secret at present that Chelsea are badly short of quality up front at Stamford Bridge, as their rare shut-out at Everton in the Premier League on Saturday clearly demonstrated, while overall so far since the self-styled ‘Special One’ made his emotional return to west London earlier this season, the Blues have found the back of the net on just four occasions in their opening four league encounters.
Mourinho tried, of course, to lure unsettled Manchester United front man Wayne Rooney away from Old Trafford during the recent summer transfer window, only to unsurprisingly fail in his long-running efforts, and so the Portuguese was forced to sign veteran Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o from Anzhi Makhachkala instead.
However, with the Blues now seemingly reliant on just Eto’o and misfiring forwards Fernando Torres and Demba Ba for goals this campaign after allowing powerful Belgium international Romelu Lukaku to join Everton on a season-long loan, you can be sure that the club will seek to add more attacking firepower up front come January.
And one striker Chelsea can sign who will not have been cup tied in Europe, which is a massive bonus, is Liverpool’s mercurial, but world-class, front man Luis Suarez, especially with the Uruguayan known to be still desperate to quit the Reds when the window reopens for a team competing in this season’s Uefa Champions League.
Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma)
There were a flurry of stories linking the coveted Italy international with a move to the Premier League in the days leading up to the closing of the summer transfer window on Sept 2, although in the end the 30-year-old stayed put with his home-town club in Serie A, for now at least.
De Rossi is a player whose name has constantly been mentioned with some of European football’s biggest clubs over the years due to his consistent level of displays in the centre of the park for the Romans, who the 30-year-old now captains.
And Chelsea have been one such team, and while the west London club may at present be well stocked for diminutive, ball-playing midfield creators, one player Jose Mourinho knows that he will soon be needing to replace at Stamford Bridge is veteran England international Frank Lampard, hard as that may be for the Blues boss.
However, if there is one man who could take that unenviable challenge on, then it is De Rossi, who has scored 48 goals in total from midfield for Roma in the past 12 years.
Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Strikers who can put the ball in the back of the net are what Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is craving at present, as the Portuguese’s post-match comments after overseeing his first defeat in his second spell back in charge of the west Londoners on Saturday evening made all too clear for everyone to see.
Currently, ‘Mou’ is rotating his options up front between recent new signing Samuel Eto’o and the unpredictable duo of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba, although you get the feeling that the Portuguese is not convinced by the worth of any of these three forwards.
However, you can also be sure that if the Blues continue to misfire in front of goal between now and when the transfer window reopens for business in January, then Mourinho will not hesitate to go straight into the market to fix the problem.
And one name on the ‘Special One’s’ striking wish list is sure to be that of Aston Villa’s prolific marksman, with only the stellar pair of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, having scored more goals in Europe’s top-five leagues than the Belgium international has managed for Paul Lambert’s Premier League strugglers so far this calendar year.
Javier Mascherano (FC Barcelona)
Chelsea made several attempts to offload holding midfield player John Obi Mikel during the recent summer transfer window, only to discover that despite plenty of interest in the languid Nigeria international, especially from Turkish champions Galatasaray, no club was prepared to meet their £12 million valuation of the 26-year-old.
And that has given Mikel an opportunity to re-establish himself in the Blues’ starting XI at the beginning of the new campaign under the guidance of the man who first brought him to Stamford Bridge seven years ago, Jose Mourinho.
However, the word going around west London at present is that Mikel is not a favourite of Mourinho’s, with the Portuguese said to be unconvinced about the player’s ability to carry out the role of defensive midfielder in the capital going forward.
One man with the experience, skills and know-how, though, to take on this position with the Blues is that of Barca’s Argentina international, who shone as a ‘water carrier’ for five years with Liverpool, before his 24 million euro move to Camp Nou in August 2010.
And with the 29-year-old now only a bit-part player with the Spanish champions following the recent arrival of new head coach Gerardo Martino in Catalonia, and even then Mascherano is only utilised in an unfamiliar centre-back position by the Paraguayan, Chelsea and Mourinho could do worse than make a move for the Argentinian come the turn of the year.
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
It was one of the longest-running transfer narratives of the summer, but in the end Chelsea failed to persuade either the England international, or perhaps more importantly Manchester United, to come to the negotiating table and discuss a deal to allow Rooney to join the Blues this season.
The west London club did lodge two bids with their arch rivals from Old Trafford for the unsettled 27-year-old, however, the Premier League champions simply refused to do business with Jose Mourinho and Co.
However, it will be interesting to see whether the Red Devils’ stance will have changed much by the time the transfer window opens once again in January, especially given the fact that the striker has still to agree a new deal with United, meaning that as things stand Rooney can still walk away from the club for nothing come June 20125.
And with prolific Dutch marksman Robin van Persie still clearly David Moyes’s first-choice front man in the north west this season, with Rooney having been forced to play a supporting role in behind the former Arsenal captain so far under the new United manager, the chances of the Englishman’s unhappiness at the club having eased by the turn of the year look remote at best.
All of which means that a big-money offer for the forward somewhere in the region of the £40 million mark come January could be enough to end Chelsea’s long-running search for a ”fox in the box’ going forward at the Bridge.