Chelsea transfer news: Conte ready to sign Monaco pair as Oscar heads to China

The worry for everyone associated with Chelsea, as they rampage to another potential title, is that if one of the players that Antonio Conte always picks in the starting XI gets injured, they could be in trouble. In order to cover for that potential problem, Chelsea are expected to sign a couple of players in January, with two from Monaco being targeted.

Chelsea have been unstoppable in the Premier League since September, going on an 11-match winning run, which has seen them go six points clear at the top of the table. To keep that run going, though, strength in depth will be essential and as a result, Conte is looking at signing a few players in January.

Two of them could come from the same club, with Chelsea scouting Djibril Sidibe and Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco. According to The Guardian, Conte and technical director Michael Emenalo have watched both the Monaco players personally and are keen on making a move in the January transfer window. Chelsea are also looking at Antonio Rudiger and Radja Nainggolan of Roma, but the Monaco players are the priority.

However, it will not be easy to convince Monaco to sell midway through the season, considering the French club are competing for the Ligue 1 title. They are also in the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will play another Premier League club in Manchester City. So, Chelsea might have to bid high if they really want both the players to sign for the London club in January.

What will help the Blues is the fact that they will have money to spend, with the club set to make £60m by selling Oscar. The Brazilian is expected to complete a move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG next month and all that money is set to be used by the club to try and strengthen their squad.