The Player Nobody's Talking About Who Chelsea Need in January
What's that coming over the hill, is it a monster? Not quite, but it is the January transfer window creeping up on us.
With Halloween and Guy Fawkes night now in the rearview mirror, Premier League teams will be looking at where they can strengthen their options in January when the winter window opens.
We're a quarter of the way through 2017/18, and the order for the remainder of the campaign is being set out. Manchester City are running away with the title, while the rest of those clubs below them scrap it out and attempt to remain in touch.
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Chelsea are one of five teams in that position, knowing some shrewd business in the next couple of months could make them City's biggest concern.
Keeping up with Pep Guardiola's men is a task in itself; what's looking tougher at this stage is finding players midseason who can make the difference.
It's the same every year: The best clubs with the best players don't want to sell halfway through a campaign, and commonly, those in need are forced to pay well over the odds, with the January sales tax hiking up prices.
There is one player who has the potential to buck the trend this season, however. Alexis Sanchez will be entering the final six months of his deal with Arsenal, and that leaves the club in a predicament.
Do the Gunners remain stubborn and turn down a multi-million-pound deal for him in January? Or do they spite themselves and allow Sanchez to leave for nothing come the summer, when they'll be powerless to dictate where he moves?
The big money is on the latter happening. And according to reports from the Manchester Evening News, Sanchez will be reunited with his former Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, at Manchester City.
If Chelsea can, they have to gazump that deal. They need a player like Sanchez to bolster their title challenge and give them a bigger threat in Europe.
Above all the players who may be available, we look at why Sanchez has to top Chelsea's shopping list in January.
Forward thinking
Of all the issues that continue to haunt Chelsea from their summer transfer business, a failure to add another attacker alongside Alvaro Morata is the most pressing.
Antonio Conte has just two strikers to choose from, with the inconsistent Michy Batshuayi completing his forward options. Given Batshuayi's struggles, the Chelsea front line doesn't strike fear into opponents in the same way it has done in the past.
Further back with the inside forwards, Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian need some extra support to compete across multiple competitions. Charly Musonda is an option, but not one Conte seems too eager to use outside of the Carabao Cup, meaning there are spaces in Chelsea's attack that need to be filled in January.
With reinforcements made at the back and in midfield, those attacking options are Chelsea's weakness right now.
Sanchez fits the mould. Indeed, his ability through the middle or as an attacking forward would strengthen Conte's side significantly.
And when we compare Chelsea in the present to the Premier League leaders Manchester City, it highlights the need for more firepower if they are to challenge their rivals.
Pep Guardiola's side have set the standard; they've scored an eye-watering 38 goals in their opening 11 league matches this term. By outscoring their opponents so comprehensively, they've won 10 of those 11 matches. It's an incredible record that is being backed up with some equally fine football.
City's attackers are sharing the goalscoring burden among them. Sergio Aguero (8), Raheem Sterling (7), Leroy Sane (6) and Gabriel Jesus (7) have scored no fewer than six goals each, their tallies totalling a combined 28.
In contrast, Chelsea have half the return of City. Morata may have settled quickly, but outside of him, the goal threat isn't enough. After his seven league goals, the closest players are Marcos Alonso, Pedro and Batshuayi with two each.
Chelsea had 18 attempts on goal against Manchester United in their 1-0 win heading into the international break, converting just one of them. That sort of blunt attack doesn't win titles.
With Chelsea's lack of goals in comparison, it means there's more pressure on the defence to keep clean sheets. It means they are running the gauntlet, relying on fine margins week in and week out. They got away with it against United, but given their dominance, the game shouldn't have gone down to the last minute.
When City visited Stamford Bridge earlier this season, Morata limped off with a hamstring injury, and with no similar alternative on the bench, it damaged Conte's game plan. Batshuayi can only play one way, so it was Willian who had to come in, leaving Hazard as the so-called false nine. Like so often before, that move failed.
The addition of Sanchez would give Chelsea that option outside of Morata. He has the intensity to fit right into Conte's system, complementing what the manager has at his disposal right now.
He scores goals; he creates goals. So as far as Chelsea's attack is concerned, he has everything to be the missing piece.
Champions League
How many genuine world-class players deemed attainable targets will not be cup-tied for the Champions League for the remainder of this season when the winter transfer window opens? You can count the number on one hand, possibly one finger.
Sanchez features in each scenario, with Arsenal's Europa League participation meaning any move for him in January would provide a major boost at home and abroad.
That fact may well maintain Sanchez's transfer value, as any buying club will be making an investment for this season and beyond.
For Chelsea, it would be worth it, adding an extra dimension to their attacking options on the continent.
After spending the summer AWOL in his native Brazil, Diego Costa was omitted from Chelsea's Champions League squad this season and has since joined Atletico Madrid. Like in the Premier League, Costa's subsequent absence means Conte has just two strikers.
If Chelsea remain in the Champions League beyond the group stage—as it stands, they require just three points from their remaining two matches—going deep into the competition with just Morata and Batshuayi isn't an option. Not when they'll be facing teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and potentially their English rivals, who all have an embarrassment of riches in attack.
Sanchez solves that problem. The Chilean would give the Blues' squad a different dynamic. That itself can create momentum that others can't, and when it comes to cup football, that can count for so much.
Character and leadership
When Bleacher Report asked Chelsea supporters last week about the most frustrating things they're experiencing with the club right now, a lack of leadership in the Stamford Bridge dressing room was often raised as a moot point.
Fans looked back to a decade ago when Chelsea boasted a team of captains. From John Terry to Michael Ballack to Didier Drogba, the Blues had a lineup of six or more captains from their international teams.
If we look at the starting XI that defeated Manchester United ahead of the international break, the number was zero.
Now, Sanchez isn't Arsenal captain, nor is he the Chile skipper. But with his winning mentality and desire that is on display every week, his ability to carry Arsenal at times has been the basis of his appeal among neutrals and Gunners supporters.
Sanchez is a captain in everything but name, and after the start Chelsea have made this season, they could have done with a player like him leading the press high up on opposition defenders.
Take the defeats to Manchester City and AS Roma in the Champions League. On both occasions, Chelsea looked flat and were unable to chase down either side from the front. That left them at a significant disadvantage, which City and Roma both made the most of.
With a lack of presence up front, Roma and City ploughed through midfield, winning those key territorial battles that meant Chelsea were always going to come out second best.
Try as he might from the sidelines, Conte's tinkering failed through a lack of personnel to counter the strengths of both sides.
Forgetting his ability as a player, the tenacity Sanchez plays with is a major string to his bow. He's a supreme athlete, and the way he conducts himself with a high work rate can be infectious.
The news may all be about Sanchez moving to City, but Chelsea have to change the conversation and put themselves in the picture.
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