Chelsea FC Transfer Options: 5 Things Blues Should Do in January Transfer Window

What should Chelsea do?

The Blues have started the season well. But there's room to improve.

With 13 points from six Premier League matches, Chelsea is in the title race, currently three points behind Manchester United.

With four points from two Champions League matches, Chelsea leads Group E ahead of Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen.

But that won't be good enough for Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's Russian oil-tycoon of an owner. Since taking control of the team in 2003, Abramovich has pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the squad.

In turn, he's expected excellence.

So, again, what should Chelsea do?

The Blues haven't been bad this season. But they haven't been great.

First-year manager Andre Villas-Boas has settled into his role quickly. But the Blues still dropped points on Wednesday in the Champions League.

The club boasts a squad among the best in Europe. But it's aging and at times under-performing.

Villas-Boas will surely have money to spend when the transfer window re-opens in January—and the authorization to use it.

But what will he do?

Here are five suggestions.

1. Don't Sell Fernando Torres

First things first.

Determine the squad's strengths. Evaluate players. Decide who must be kept.

That list should start with Spanish striker Fernando Torres. Our view is that he should not be sold.

True, he's only scored two goals this season.

Yes, we know he was sent off against Swansea City.

Yep, we saw that miss against Manchester United.

But has anybody noticed that El Niño has been playing some great football lately? We're talking great enough to warrant that crazy transfer fee and those obscene wages.

OK, so maybe not that great. But, overall, he has been outstanding this season.

Take Wednesday's Champions League match against Valencia, for example. Torres did everything but score.

He looked comfortable on the ball from the start, moving in and out of dangerous positions in the center of the attack.

He combined well with others, especially Juan Mata, as Chelsea took control after Valencia's bright opening.

He took two goalscoring chances well and only missed out on two goals because of two outstanding saves.

For the most part, he's played that way all season. That's someone Chelsea should want to keep around.

It took Torres a long time to find his feet with Chelsea. Now that he has, why would they want to sell him?

2. Find Cover for Lampard

Frank Lampard also played well Wednesday.

Like Torres, he played well enough to silence his critics for at least another week.

But unlike Torres, Lampard is fighting a losing battle this season—and every season from now on.

Lampard turns 34 next June. Despite what he thinks about himself, he shouldn't be an automatic selection in the center of Chelsea's midfield.

His frustration over that fact led him to leave the bench during Chelsea's weekend win over Swansea City. His performance against Valencia led many—including this writer—to conclude he has plenty left to offer.

That's true: He does have plenty left to offer. But he won't be able to replicate that form as often as a 24-year-old. Heck, he won't even be able to do it as often as a 28-year-old.

Frank Lampard is getting older. He needs to accept it along with his new role. And so does Chelsea.

But here's the thing: Lampard was Chelsea's best midfield player Wednesday against Valencia. It was no coincidence that Chelsea's late collapse occurred after Lampard was subbed out.

Lampard still commands a great influence on Chelsea's midfield. He can't, however, do that week-in and week-out.

In January, Chelsea needs to sign a similar player who's at least five to seven years younger.

Stevan Jovetic might fit the description. The Fiorentina midfielder is much younger at 21—he'll turn 22 in November—but he's got great control, dribbles well and seems to be a rising star.

Plus, Chelsea has been linked to him.

Meanwhile, this report links Chelsea to Real Madrid's Sami Khedira.

Neither would serve as an apples-to-apples replacement for Lampard. But together, Jovetic and Khedira could help the Blues immensely in January.

3. The Same Goes for JT

Buying another defender never hurts.

Just ask Arsenal.

Chelsea currently sits in a strong position defensively. Led by John Terry, the defense has allowed seven goals in six Premiership matches—just over one per game.

If you take out the Manchester United game (United won 3-1), that's four goals conceded in five matches.

But you can't take away the Manchester United game, or the lessons Chelsea should have learned in it.

United showed that Chelsea's defense can be torn apart.

Terry, its most senior, experienced member, can be beaten for pace by a wily striker. He's still strong in the air, and he still reads the game very well, but his pace is suspect.

Terry turns 31 in December, and like Lampard, he's still a valuable contributor for Chelsea. But he's also on the wrong side of 30.

That's not to say Chelsea should get rid of Terry. Quite the contrary: Keep him around and keep him in the starting 11.

But find some cover while the window is open in January.

This report suggests Chelsea is set to beat Arsenal and Spurs for Gary Cahill's signature. If so, that would be an outstanding signing for the Blues.

4. Don't Panic-Buy

As in, don't overbid for Carlos Tevez when Manchester City puts him up for sale.

City will put him on the transfer market, and when it does happen, some unlucky club will bid too much for an out-of-sorts Tevez.

Let it be another club.

Tevez is clearly unhappy in England. He hasn't been the same player for some time now, and it's not certain he'll return to form as long as he's in England.

Besides, Chelsea has enough strikers.

That reminds us…

5. Sort out the Strikers and Trim the Fat

Chelsea has too many strikers.

Fernando Torres is coming into form. But then there are a host of others who are all over the place.

Didier Drogba. Daniel Sturridge. Nicolas Anelka. Romelu Lukaku (anyone remember him?).

And then Mata, Meireles, Malouda and Kalou can play either midfield or forward.

It's time to trim the fat.

Anelka has already said he wants to quit the club in the summer. Let him go, but get some money for him in January.

Then sell whoever else is surplus to requirements. Spend the money on a midfielder and a central defender.