Chelsea Transfer News: Alexandre Lacazette Targeted, Latest John Terry Rumours

Chelsea will look past Alexandre Lacazette's stuttering start to the 2015-16 campaign as they look to launch another bid for the Lyon forward in 2016, while John Terry remains confident of earning a new Stamford Bridge deal.

Lacazette has scored just once this season after being crowned Ligue 1's top scorer last term, but a report from Spanish website Fichajes.net (via Metro's Tom Olver) insisted that the Blues will go in for the striker once again this winter.

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

The 24-year-old's 27 league goals last season made him a hot candidate to leave Lyon during the summer, but Lacazette spurned any outside interest to pen a new four-year deal at the Stade de Gerland.

Lyon may be regretting their decision not to cash in while the forward's stock was high, however, as the BBC's John Bennett noted the scoring drought he's been forced to endure at the beginning of this term:

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Alexandre Lacazette - one of those strikers linked to #AFC - hasn't scored in 8 games. He missed a penalty last night for Lyon in the #UCL.

— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) September 17, 2015"

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been pained by his side's struggles so far this season after winning just two of their first six games and lacking the same sinister streak in front of goal they boasted in 2014-15.

And the Blues' woes went from bad to worse on Tuesday after Sky Sports revealed that the Football Association handed first-choice striker Diego Costa a three-match ban for violent conduct in Saturday's 2-0 win over Arsenal:

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BREAKING NEWS: Chelsea striker Diego Costa suspended for three matches after being found guilty of violent conduct by the FA #SSNHQ

— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) September 22, 2015"

Costa has always been regarded as a tenacious character—it's as much part of his appeal as it's an ugly trait—but his on-pitch antics have now left the west Londoners looking lighter up front.

Lacazette's faltering form has also seen Lyon fail to recapture the magic of last season, with the club sat seventh in Ligue 1 after winning just two of their six games this term.

Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press

Perhaps Chelsea's greater concern at present, however, is their defence. The notoriously stingy side have leaked 12 goals this season—an average of two goals per Premier League outing—in what's been an out-of-character weakness by their standards.

It's been difficult for club captain Terry as much as anyone else, but the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel has reported that sources close to the ex-England international say he's not willing to leave the Blues' cause just yet:

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After being dropped for Chelsea's two previous matches against Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Arsenal - both of which Chelsea have won - Terry returns to the team for Wednesday's Capital One Cup clash against Walsall.

However, the defender can expect to be back on the bench for the weekend trip to Newcastle, with Mourinho set to continue with Zouma and Gary Cahill in the heart of his back four. Nevertheless, sources close to Terry insist he is refusing to press the panic button, despite the fact his distinguished Blues career seems to be drawing to a close.

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Terry will turn 35 at the beginning of December and is poised to see his contract expire at season's end, with questions inevitably turning back to what he has to offer Chelsea moving forward.

After Terry played no part in the 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday, Mourinho insisted that his faith in his stalwart remains strong, however, according to Bleacher Report's Garry Hayes:

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JM: "John Terry doesn't need me to speak with him. He knows what I feel, what I think. He knows he's my man." @br_uk #CFC

— Garry Hayes (@garryhayes) September 19, 2015"

It's no secret the west Londoners were highly interested in cutting a deal for Everton and England star John Stones over the summer, according to the Mirror's Darren Lewis. They were rebuffed in their advances, though, signing the lower-profile defensive pair of Papy Djilobodji and Michael Hector instead.

Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma have been the first-choice duo in central defence during Terry's absence, with the former recently heaping praise on his emerging French partner, via the London Evening Standard's Simon Johnson:

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Kurt has come in like when I joined the club and taken his chance. He's performed really, is a great lad, works hard and is a fantastic talent. He's proved his fully in line [sic] with John and me. It's a three way fight, but obviously John has been the mainstay at the minute. It's healthy.

It's been this way since I first came here when there was Branislav, John and David Luiz who could play centre back. Top internationals who have played a lot more in the game so it's always been tough competition.

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It's to be expected that Terry's weary legs might slow at this stage in his career and that his long-term value will once again come into question as Chelsea hope to recapture the heights of past European and domestic domination.

The veteran defender has undoubtedly done enough to attain "legend" status as far as Stamford Bridge will be concerned. But just as Didier Drogba did this past summer, the question now turns to when the time will come for the two parties to cut ties.