Chelsea Transfer News: Alexandre Lacazette Named on Jose Mourinho's January List

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho looks set to go on a January spending spree to restore honour at Stamford Bridge, and he’s reportedly placed Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette on his wish list.  

According to Simon Johnson of London Evening Standard, Mourinho will be given time to turn the Blues’ season around by bringing in some new recruits when the transfer window opens.

Strikers could well prove the Portuguese boss’ priority, and he’s set to swoop for Lacazette, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time now.

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

The French forward only signed a new four-year deal with Lyon in September, when he remained adamant that it was never his intention to leave the club, per Sky Sports: "I let it be known my wish to stay at the club and to refuse any outside offer. The important thing for me was not whether I would extend my contract or not, but to stay at the club. I knew that I was going to stay here."

Yet, Mourinho still wishes to test the waters with the 24-year-old, who has scored five goals in Ligue 1 this term, per WhoScored.com.

Finding the net has been a big problem for Chelsea this season, with Diego Costa failing to follow on from his impressive 2014/15 campaign.

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Midfielder Cesc Fabregas recently expressed just how important having a lethal frontman is at Chelsea, as failing to take chances has cost the Blues, per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail: “The striker is the most important player on the pitch. Sometimes, 80 per cent of the time, he is important as he scores the goals. At the end of the day in football, you can play well, defend well, but it is about scoring goals, about scoring one more goal.”

Lacazette has certainly proved himself a lethal asset down the years, as has another one of Mourinho’s reported targets, per Johnson: Alex Teixeira.

The Shakhtar Donetsk striker has been in irresistible form in 2015/16, scoring goals for fun and causing nightmares for Ukrainian Premier League defences, as we see below:

His and Lacazette’s final touch in front of goal is often the telling one, and while Costa may be a fan favourite, Premier League defenders are starting to find him out and keep him perilously quiet.

Elsewhere, Mourinho is said to be interested in going back in for Everton centre-back John Stones, while Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos is another option in the heart of defence, per Johnson.

Both players are seemingly being looked at as a long-term successor to John Terry, yet they won’t come cheap.

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Porto midfielder Ruben Neves and talented Red Star Belgrade youngster Marko Grujic have also been identified by Mourinho, who hopes the arrival of some new recruits will give his players the boost they need, per Johnson.

Something does need to change at Chelsea if they’re to get on the road to redemption anytime soon, and bringing in some fresh faces could be the way to go about it.

However, some believe that just one fresh face needs to be added—the one in the manager’s chair. The pressure is very much on Mourinho to reverse the Blues’ fortunes, and although he has big plans for the transfer window, making it to January could prove tricky.