Chelsea Transfer News: Michail Antonio, Jonas Hector Wanted, Fresh Blues Rumours

Chelsea are lining up January moves for West Ham United's Michail Antonio and Cologne's Jonas Hector, according to reports. 

Blues boss Antonio Conte is targeting the players for the right and left wing-back positions as he attempts to maintain his side's position at the top of the Premier League, per Matt Hughes of the Times.

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Chelsea have the second-best defensive record in the division, but the reported targeting of Antonio and Hector shows Conte is not resting on his laurels and is looking to add more depth to his squad as he continues to shape it since his arrival from Juventus last summer.

Signing both players would provide useful competition for Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso who currently occupy the wing-back spots.

Antonio in particular is a player who could excel under Conte, whose successful tactical switch to deploy Moses as a marauding wide man has been a key factor in Chelsea's rise to the summit this season.

The Match of the Day Twitter account acknowledged the midfielder's aerial ability:

A player with a strong running, bustling style, Antonio has been particularly impressive for West Ham this season and comes with a real goal threat. After a drop-off in Dimitri Payet's performances, Antonio has stepped up and helped the Hammers to claw away from the lower reaches of the table.

He has a remarkable record of scoring headers, and of his 16 Premier League goals to date, 13 have been with his head, including seven out of eight this season, as noted by the competition's official website.

Antonio's early-season displays earned him an England call-up, which was met with delight by the player on Twitter:

Hector's potential arrival would give Conte an alternative to Alonso on Chelsea's left side. The Germany full-back took over from the legendary Philipp Lahm and is a well-balanced, versatile player who can also fill competently in central midfield.

His presence in the Germany national squad created debate ahead of Euro 2016.

Christoph Biermann for the Guardian stated Hector was "the kind of player who should not really exist anymore" before describing him as "sort of a German version of Jamie Vardy—minus the electronic tag."

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Hector is particularly impressive when defending in one-on-one situations, and while he may not possess Alonso's more attacking attributes, he would likely provide the Blues with a solid option in reserve.

While Conte ponders a move for Antonio, West Ham themselves are said to be interested in taking Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi on loan this month, per Sky Sports.

Per the report, Batshuayi was one of West Ham manager Slaven Bilic's top targets last summer, but he missed out to his London rivals. However, the Belgium international striker has yet to start a league match in England, largely due to the imperious form of the league's top scorer, Diego Costa.

Any loan would depend on whether Batshuayi backs himself to work his way into the Chelsea lineup and take his chance to stay there if he gets it.

However, it could perhaps represent a surprise if Conte were to decide to strengthen his squad with moves for Antonio and Hector and subsequently allow his only real back-up striker to leave the club at such an important stage in the season.