Sancho, Werner, and more: Rating Chelsea's chances of landing reported January transfer targets

After a fast and impressive start to the 2019/20 Premier League season, Chelsea have shown signs of slowing down over the last couple of months. Frank Lampard, appointed as the head coach of the club prior to the start of the season, has done a superb job so far at the helm of Stamford Bridge. It is also important to acknowledge the circumstances that surrounded his appointment in the summer as Chelsea were banned from the transfer market and deal with the losses of key players such as club Eden Hazard and David Luiz.

Mateo Kovacic was on loan at the London club last season and a deal was found to make the move a permanent one. He was one of the two new faces that Chelsea managed to add despite their ban, with a deal to bring Christian Pulisic to Stamford Bridge agreed in the winter before. While the Croatian has earned plaudits for consistent performances this season, the American is yet to find his feet.

Lampard's remarkable work so far sees them sit 4th in the Premier League and in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The upliftment of the transfer ban could not have come at a better time for the Blues.

Currently in need of reinforcements in several areas, Chelsea have understandably been linked to a number of players. Here, we rate the chances of Chelsea signing their reported targets.

Kalidou Koulibaly

Napoli's defensive rock Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the names that has been linked constantly with a move to Stamford Bridge. This is, of course, with good reason considering Chelsea's evidently weak defence coupled with untimely injuries to Antonio Rudiger. Apart from the German, there isn't a whole lot of experienced heads at the back, and this relative inexperience has been one of the key talking points of their season so far.

Koulibaly will be an ideal fix as the 28-year-old has been one of the most consistent defenders in world football. A leader at the back, the Senegalese would slot into and take charge of the Blues' rearguard with ease and almost immediately take it a few notches higher.

Reports have suggested that Koulibaly could be on his way out of Naples come summer despite Napoli rebuffing Manchester United's approaches for the defender as recently as last summer. If he does move, Chelsea is certainly an attractive option. The major issue, though, is that Napoli are unlikely to sell their prized asset midway through the season as they seek to seal Champions League qualification.

Transfer likelihood rating: 5/10. Napoli are under no pressure to sell and will not part with the defender this winter.

Jadon Sancho

Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho is one of the hottest properties in Europe at the moment and at 19, he has the world at his feet. After being a part of the youth setup at Manchester City, he left England for Germany to join Dortmund in search of first-team football. There's been no looking back for the winger since then as he has established himself as a superstar in the making. He's already racked up 9 goals and 9 assists in 15 league games this season.

Chelsea have been long linked with Sancho, even prior to his departure from England. With both Willian and Pedro now on the wrong side of 30, the former City man could slot in very well at Stamford Bridge. Also given the strong English contingent the Blues have and Sancho's excellent relation with players such as Callum Hudson-Odoi, the move could be a perfect match.

However, with Dortmund making it clear that they will not entertain any January bids for the Englishman, it looks likely that Sancho stays at the Signal Iduna Park at least till the summer.

Transfer likelihood rating: 4/10. Dortmund are likely to spark a bidding war in the summer for their prized asset.

Timo Werner

RB Leipzig's Timo Werner could, in theory, be an excellent addition to this Chelsea side. The electrifying German forward could function in tandem with Blues' fan-favourite Tammy Abraham and complement his strengths very well. With an electrifying top speed and immaculate finishing, Werner would fit seamlessly into a counter-attacking system and could offer any team including Chelsea a more direct way of attacking.

The German renewed his contract with Leipzig in 2019 to keep him at the Red Bull Arena, and although it is unclear if there is a release clause or not, his contract runs till June of 2023.

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block in Chelsea's pursuit of the former Stuttgart man is that RB Leipzig have had an incredible season so far. Currently sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table, Julian Nagelsmann's men are vying for the league title and have a knockout tie to play against Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur.

Werner, who scored 18 goals in 17 league games so far, is central to their attack and will not be let go at this stage of the season.

Transfer likelihood rating: 5/10. Although a plausible move in the summer, Werner is crucial to Leipzig's title push as far as the 2019/20 season is concerned.

Ben Chilwell

The second Englishman on this list, Ben Chilwell has been subject to interest from Chelsea and several clubs long before his first-team breakthrough. The Leicester City man is England's first-choice left-back and at 23, he would be a future-proof option for any club looking to secure Chilwell's services.

Chelsea's current options in that position are Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri, both of whom have come under criticism over the last season or two. With both their futures up in the air, it is very likely that Lampard demands the recruitment of a specialist left-back.

Going by the precedent the Foxes set with the Harry Maguire transfer saga, it is evident that Chilwell is going to cost potential suitors a lot of money. Furthermore, with Leicester's impressive push for a European spot on the Premier League table, Chelsea might find it all the more difficult to prise the 23-year-old away from the King Power Stadium.

Transfer likelihood rating: 4/10. Leicester are a hard club to convince and Chelsea will most likely have to wait to till the summer for Chilwell.

Moussa Dembele

Olympique Lyon's Moussa Dembele has reportedly been earmarked by Lampard himself to provide competition for and combine with Abraham. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a rich vein of form, having scored 10 goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season.

The striker has been linked to Chelsea for some time now and already has a brief experience of playing the English top-flight, having made played for Fulham at the start of his senior career. With Abraham being the main source of goals for the club and Michy Batshuayi's failure to cement himself as a reliable option for Lampard to count on, their interest in the clinical Frenchman is understandable.

Unfortunately, OL have made their stance about the player's situation clear, releasing a statement saying they have no intention of letting the player go.