Frank Lampard Says Chelsea Will Be Buyers in January If Transfer Ban Is Halved

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said he intends to spend if the Blues have their FIFA-imposed transfer ban halved, allowing them to sign players during the January transfer window.

Per Matt Law of the Telegraph, Lampard admitted he is keeping an eye on the upcoming Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing on November 20. When told a good portion of the fans don't want the ban to be halved, he said:

"We're on a good run, though, aren't we? I get that and it's a nice feeling. Of course some players have come in and shown with their opportunities they've been given that they can do roles and play well. We are getting results at the moment.

"Listen, I think as Chelsea we will always look to improve in windows if we can, if we're allowed to and if the players we might look at are better or we feel are worth adding to the squad.

"But, at the minute, I'm very happy with what I've got so I suppose that's why, hopefully, fans are as well."

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Chelsea were unable to sign any new players in the summer due to a two-window transfer ban, but the punishment has unexpectedly benefited the club. Lampard has relied on academy products and youngsters who have developed faster than expected.

Per Football.London's Oliver Harbord, it has led to an odd situation where a good chunk of Chelsea fans would rather not see new players come in during the January transfer window:

According to Law, the Blues will have a £150 million budget in January should the ban be overturned. Their lengthy list of targets includes Bournemouth's Nathan Ake, Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, Leicester City's Ben Chilwell and Lyon's Moussa Dembele.

The London-born Sancho, in particular, would fit the club's current direction of building around rising stars and investing in long-term potential.

That ethos was on full display in their last outing, a 2-1 win over Watford in which academy graduate Tammy Abraham and January signing Christian Pulisic got on the scoresheet:

Other rising stars include Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, giving the Blues a tremendous foundation of young talent. Ethan Ampadu and Conor Gallagher are out on loan but expected to be future contributors as well.

Chelsea are tied with Leicester for third place in the Premier League standings, sitting ahead of the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. The gap to fifth-placed Arsenal is six points, and the Blues are in a great position to secure UEFA Champions League football for next season.

January reinforcements could give the team a major boost, but it would also result in less playing time for some of the team's young talents.