It's been a season of mixed fortunes for Chelsea and Antonio Conte so far.
An opening day defeat to Burnley at home suggested a repeat of the 2015/16 campaign was on the cards, when the Blues completely failed to defend the Premier League title.
But slowly but surely they've picked up form and now they find themselves fourth in the table, five points behind league leaders Manchester City and Manchester United.
It's been a tough few days for Conte, though, having lost 1-0 to City at home over the weekend thanks to Kevin De Bruyne's screamer.
Worse still, Alvaro Morata could be out for six to eight weeks after MRI scans revealed a grade two hamstring injury, suffered against the Citizens.
Doubts are now starting to creep in as to whether Conte will still be Chelsea manager next season, especially amid rumours of a return to Italy with AC Milan.
Conte is reportedly unhappy with the level of financial support he received from Chelsea's hierarchy over the summer and could resign at the end of the current campaign.
Not since Jose Mourinho's first spell as manager in 2004 have the Blues managed to keep a manager for over three years and now Conte is looking like he could join that list.
But not if Chelsea have anything to say about it first.
According to the Mirror, the Stamford Bridge side are prepared to show their commitment to Conte by making moves for two world-class players in January.
The first is Juventus left-back Alex Sandro, who you might recall came close to joining Chelsea in the summer transfer window but ended up staying.
Missing out on Sandro frustrated Conte and now Chelsea's board want to make it up to the Italian by securing a deal midway through the season.
The second player is Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez. Pep Guardiola wants to take the Chilean to Manchester, but Chelsea are preparing their own move.
Chelsea believe Sanchez's contract situation in north London could see Arsenal cash in for a cut-price fee, hence why they're ready to pounce.
It remains unlikely that Arsene Wenger will sell to a rival in January, but desperate times call for desperate measures and Sanchez is showing no signs of penning a new contract.