Tottenham's Dos Santos in Shock January Move to Chelsea?

Tottenham Hotspur's Giovani Dos Santos is the subject of a January bid from Chelsea, according to some newspaper reports.

Dos Santos, who only joined Spurs in the summer, is rumoured to be unhappy at his lack of first-team action. He has started three games in the Premiership this season, and is yet to appear under new manager Harry Redknapp.

The diminuitive winger, who scored a hat-trick in his final appearance for Barcelona in May, has struggled to adapt to the fast and physical nature of the English Premier League. His presence in the struggling outfit from White Hart Lane has been limited, and Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari sees him as an ideal short-term solution to the club's shortfall of both wingers and strikers.

On the back of a heavy defeat in Rome, with Chelsea's frontline again misfiring against a bigger team, it is the clear that the club urgently need to bring in some reinforcements in January, contrary to Peter Kenyon's statement last month.

Although Chelsea have scored more goals than anyone in the Premiership (27, compared to Liverpool's 16 and United's 19) and conceded fewer than anyone else (a stingy four goals in 11 games) two recent defeats have alarmed Scolari.

Liverpool's victory at the Bridge was perhaps a touch fortunate, but the Blues never looked like scoring. Barely one clear-cut opportunity was created, whilst against Roma on Tuesday night, for all their intricate passing, the lack of incision and precision was evident for all those watching.

In the big games this season, Chelsea have lacked spark. Without this spark, there is little hope of the club winning either the league or the Champions League this season. Under Mourinho (and to a certain extent Grant) the club's success was built on grinding out victories when it mattered—this is something the new, "oh look at our beautiful football and our 5-0 wins" Chelsea need to rediscover.

All this points to a new player—a front three of Anelka, Malouda and Kalou might cut it against Middlesbrough or Sunderland, or even Villa or Tottenham, but when Liverpool or Man United come to town, more is needed. Chelsea's predictably huge turnover of injuries this season has sidelined Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, Deco, and Michael Ballack at different stages.

Is Dos Santos really the man though? A man who, remember, is yet to score or even make an assist this season? A man who has looked lost on the pitch, regularly outmuscled? He is a man who at this moment only just makes the Spurs bench—can he really expect to move to West London and walk into one of the top five teams in Europe?

Rumours abound that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich hasn't fared too well in the recent financial crisis. He sacked 15 of Chelsea's worldwide scouting network earlier this week, amid reports he desires to cut the transfer budget too. Dos Santos only cost Spurs £4.7 million in the summer—Chelsea probably wouldn't need to spend much more than that.

But is he good enough? I doubt it. He made headlines at Barca at a young age, but talented wide men usually do. His form in the Premiership has been frankly dire, and any hope that it will improve with a move across London seems a little desperate.

Chelsea need an injection of life to improve against better teams, but the thought of a generally unused Tottenham Hotspur substitute, with so little Premier League experience, providing that injection is as shocking as it is alarming.