It promises to be a very notable January transfer window for Chelsea after their embargo was lifted this week.

There were no true signings in the summer - Christian Pulisic was confirmed the previous winter and Mateo Kovacic had a loan made permanent - putting new manager Frank Lampard in a strange position.

There's no guarantee he'd have got the job without the embargo, of course, but it still meant taking over a Chelsea side that was losing Eden Hazard and couldn't sign a replacement.


Both have been fantastic and it gives the boss something to think about now that his hands aren't tied by the embargo.

According to the Guardian, Lampard will have £150m to play with this winter - and already he has his eyes on two Premier League targets.

The first of those is Wilfried Zaha, who Crystal Palace reportedly value at a massive £80m and they're 'determined not to accept a lower fee'.

But they could be tempted in accepting Olivier Giroud in part-exchange - the striker wants to leave and the Guardian say Palace are interested.

Chelsea's other target is a former Blue - Bournemouth's Nathan Ake.

Ake debuted for Chelsea as a 17-year-old back in 2012 but left for Bournemouth in 2017 after a series of loan spells.

The Cherries paid a club-record £20m to sign the defender but a clause in the deal means Chelsea can re-sign him on the 'cheap'.

That figure is £40m - below what Ake is probably worth but still twice what he was initially sold for.

So, with agent fees and wages and everything else involved, you'd think those two deals would eat up that £150m.

Zaha and Ake - a decent investment from Chelsea? Would that be enough to secure a top-four spot and challenge in the Champions League?

Chelsea apparently think so and they're ready to bet a lot of money on it.