Chelsea free to sign players in January as transfer ban is reduced

Chelsea are free to sign players in January after their
transfer ban was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for
Sport.

The Premier League club was unable to strengthen its squad
in the summer after FIFA ruled they had breached
regulations relating to the recruitment of young players.

Chelsea appealed to CAS, who have now halved the two-
window ban, meaning manager Frank Lampard will now have
the option of utilising the clubs transfer funds come January.

The Blues have made a solid start to life under the
stewardship of the club’s all-time record goalscorer and are
currently fourth in the Premier League following
Wednesday’s win over West Ham, while they are well placed
to qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League.

Lampard has re-energised the club following the departure
of Maurizio Sarri by placing is faith in a crop of emerging
academy graduates including the likes of Mason Mount,
Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James.Despite the progress that has undoubtedly been made,
Lampard will likely relish the opportunity to spend next
month with Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell, Borussia
Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Crystal Palace winger
Wilfried Zaha understood to be among his primary targets.

Zaha was coveted by both Arsenal and Everton during the
summer, but remained with the Eagles despite handing in a
formal transfer request but leading agent Federico Pastorello
earlier this week sparked speculation the former
Manchester United star could be on the move come
January.

‘Another player I also think about is Wilfried Zaha. I think he
really deserves a new challenge and a top club, because he
is really a top player,’ said the Italian agent.
‘It is surprising me because I read about a possible move in
the summer but he stayed again. But this season he is
proving that he is very focused and concentrated. So think he
could be another good opportunity in the January market.

‘The January market can be really calm. As the number of
transfers there is about one third as many than in the
summer. But there are some very good and interesting
opportunities for the clubs that sell, because maybe a club
really needs that player and is ready to pay a little bit more
because of emergency.’