Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Mousa Dembele and Jamie Vardy Rumours

Chelsea are set to splash £40 million in the January transfer window to get their season back on track, with a report claiming the Blues have Tottenham Hotspur’s Mousa Dembele and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy on their wish list for a mid-season move.

According to Darren Lewis and Dave Kidd of the Daily Mirror, manager Jose Mourinho is keen on the pair, who have been two of the standout players in the Premier League this season.

Dembele, who will face Chelsea for Spurs at White Hart Lane on Sunday lunchtime, represents an intriguing proposition for the Blues.

“Dembele would give his [Mourinho's] ailing champions a desperately-needed mid-season boost,” write Lewis and Kidd, also noting the Belgium international is likely to cost around £20 million.

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The 28-year-old has just over 18 months left on his current contract with Tottenham and it’s noted in the piece that—with the Blues and Stoke City interested—his “long-term future remains uncertain” and he’s “keeping his powder dry” over signing an extension as a result.

Nooruddean Choudry of Joe.co.uk recently paid tribute to the former Fulham man, who has been excellent this term:

Chelsea could definitely do with a player of Dembele’s stature in the middle of the park.

Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas have had poor campaigns to this point and may return to form in 2016, although neither can carry a team forward in the same style as the Spurs star, allowing transitions from attack to defence in the blink of an eye.

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That’s a quality which Chelsea have lacked so far this season, and Dembele is the kind of player who would provide an immediate antidote to this stylistic problem. If he is stalling on a new contract, then there’s a chance Spurs may take a sizeable offer and cash in on the player in the January window too.

Another player who can alter the course of a game when the ball is at his feet is Vardy, who is enjoying an astonishing run of form for the Foxes at the moment.

As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports MNF, the 28-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant rise this season:

“They have been impressed by Vardy’s work rate but are examining other elements of his game, including whether he could cope with the pressure of performing in their star-studded squad,” write Lewis and Kidd of Chelsea’s interest.

The England international would certainly make an impact at Stamford Bridge. Although his goals have shot Vardy to prominence this season, he does so much good work for the team in other facets of his play. The former Fleetwood Town man stretches defences, pressures opponents and is always sharp when pouncing on opportunities.

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At the moment, Chelsea do not possess a player at the point of the attack with similar qualities.

As Dominic Fifield of the Guardian notes, the Blues boss has let his dissatisfaction show with his current starting striker, Diego Costa, as of late too:

Vardy would definitely give the champions a shot in the arm, but doubts remain over whether or not he’s an ideal long-term solution.

Playing for a side as illustrious as Chelsea poses different issues than playing for Leicester, with a requirement for coping in tight spaces and holding up the ball as opposition teams seek to restrict space.

Despite his sensational form, they’re not attributes which come naturally to Vardy. So while the prospect of joining a side such as Chelsea will be tantalising for a player who has battled his way to the top from non-league football, he should think very carefully before he even considers leaving high-flying Leicester during midseason.