3 players Chelsea must look to sign in the January transfer window | Premier League 2019-20

#2 Nathan Ake

Nathan Ake would definitely help to tighten Chelsea's defence

Frank Lampard might’ve been willing to sell David Luiz to Arsenal in the summer – feeling that youngster Fikayo Tomori was more than capable of filling the gap left by the Brazilian in the Blues’ defence – but despite Tomori’s impressive performances, Chelsea’s back-line has still struggled at times during the current campaign.

Chelsea have conceded 29 goals this season – more than any of the other sides in the top five – and if they want to maintain their position and stay on course for a Champions League spot, then they need to tighten things up. One way of doing that would be to sign Nathan Ake – one of the Premier League’s most highly rated defenders – from Bournemouth.

There are a number of different reasons why signing the Dutchman would make sense; firstly, Chelsea sold Ake to the Cherries in 2017 and have a buy-back clause in his contract, meaning he’d be available for a relatively cheap £40m should the Blues wish to exercise their rights.

Secondly, he has superior statistics in a great majority of defensive areas to all of Chelsea’s current central defenders – Tomori, Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen. And at 24 years old, he’s not reached his prime yet and could even improve further.

Ake is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, but he’s expected to be back before the end of January – meaning this signing is practically a no-brainer for Frank Lampard’s side. Realistically, they should never have sold him in the first place.