The Court of Arbitration for Sport have overturned Chelsea’s transfer ban following a successful appeal.
If reports are to be believed, the Blues have a £150million kitty ready to be splurged in January.
The likes of Jadon Sancho, Ben Chillwell, Moussa Dembele and Wilfried Zaha are already being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
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But would a lavish spending spree upset the balance Frank Lampard has created?
The 41-year-old’s debut season in Premier League management is going better than most expected.
After 15 games, Chelsea are fourth but already six points clear of Wolves in fifth place, with Champions League qualification already looking like a realistic prospect.
A win away at Everton on Saturday would take Chelsea level on points with Man City ahead of the Manchester derby.
Chelsea won the Europa League and finished third under Maurizio Sarri last season but a failure to implement ‘Sarri-ball’ meant the fans were discontent for much of the campaign.
Truth be told, their league campaign relied heavily on the brilliance of Eden Hazard, who scored or assisted 49% of Chelsea’s 63 league goals in 2018/19.
So when Sarri was shown the door and Hazard completed an inevitable switch to Real Madrid, many anticipated the Blues to suffer under new management.
Not least because the club were unable to reinvest the Hazard money in new players because of the aforementioned transfer ban.
Lampard was effectively given a free hit this season.
His legendary status as a player and the the double hampering of Hazard’s exit and transfer ban meant the fans were already on his side and expectations were tempered.
By any measure, he has exceeded expectations so far.
The club’s all-time top scorer has had the faith he’s shown Tammy Abraham repaid twice over with the 22-year-old three goals behind the league’s leading goalscorer this season, Jamie Vardy.
Lampard has also translated Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori’s impressive Championship form to the top flight.
Mateo Kovacic is a player reborn this season and the last few weeks have removed any question marks over Christian Pulisic.
It shouldn’t be overlooked that Chelsea have found a winning formula despite injuries to key players Antonio Rudiger and N’Golo Kante.
While most fanbases would relish the prospect of a spending spree, you can understand why some Chelsea fans would be hesitant to mix things up too much.
The likes of Abraham, Mount and Tomori have been allowed to flourish in the environment of the transfer ban.
There is a case to be made for maintaining trust in youth and preserving the optimistic squad morale.
That being said, if Chelsea have the opportunity to sign Chilwell and/or Sancho, they probably should.
Underestimating Lampard has proved foolish so far so who is to say he wouldn’t be able to integrate new signings without sacrificing the momentum he has built?
Additionally, with Pedro, Willian and Olivier Giroud (all over 30 years old) running down contracts, reinforcements will be necessary at some stage.
Perhaps it’s just as likely Chelsea’s bubble will grow – rather than burst – with an influx of fresh talent?
On one hand: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
On the other: Lampard’s Chelsea may only be a couple of players away from a genuine title challenge.
NEXT: Pressing Jorginho & Mateo Kovacic is the equivalent of leaving your fridge open all day