Chelsea are reportedly hopeful that they will be able to overturn their transfer ban in the New Year, which in turn will give them the freedom to launch a bid for Wilfried Zaha.
The Blues were unable to add reinforcements to the squad this summer due to the ban, leaving Frank Lampard to work with the squad that he inherited from Maurizio Sarri.
However, they did have a deal in place for Christian Pulisic, while Mateo Kovacic arrived in a permanent switch after last season’s loan spell.
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Fortunately, Chelsea appear to have plenty of strength in depth with the return of several loan players too including the likes of youngsters Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham, and so perhaps the club legend will be confident that he has enough to ensure that they compete on multiple fronts this year.
However, they’ll want to avoid being restricted in January again and according to The Sun, they are said to be confident that they can successfully appeal against the ban lasting another transfer window.
Should they manage to overturn it, the report goes on to suggest that they plan on launching an £80m bid for Crystal Palace ace Zaha, who failed to get a move away from Selhurst Park on deadline day.
As seen in the video below, Palace boss Roy Hodgson spoke about the situation as he left the club’s training ground on Thursday, and ultimately Zaha will be at the club for the next few months at least.
Time will tell if Palace’s stance changes in January, but Chelsea seemingly have identified the Ivorian international as a key target to prioritise once they are able to sign players again, as he’s coming off the back of another impressive campaign last year in which he bagged 10 goals and 10 assists in 34 league outings.
Lampard seems to be well set in that department already with Pedro, Willian and Pulisic playing in the wide areas, although still only 26 years of age, Zaha could be considered a long-term solution with both Pedro and Willian on the wrong side of 30.
? Zaha stays…
Roy Hodgson has the final say on Wilfried Zaha's summer-long transfer saga pic.twitter.com/B8Td2sNjze
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 8, 2019
