10 Players Chelsea Should Be Looking At In January

Here are 10 players I believe Chelsea should be looking to sign in January.

1) Sami Khedira - Real Madrid

Age: 26

Strengths: tackling, positioning, awareness

Weaknesses: pace, shooting, heading

Likelihood: 7/10

Jose Mourinho has a strong bond with the Germany international from his time at Real Madrid and the pair have been linked with a reunion all summer.

2) Karim Benzema - Real Madrid

Age: 25

Strengths: movement, heading, strength

Weaknesses: composure, work-rate, temperament

Likelihood: 2/10

Although his status in Madrid is shaky, whether or not Mourinho is looking for another striker after signing Samuel Eto'o is something that will, I'm sure, become apparent.

3) Eliaquim Mangala

Age: 22

Strengths: strength, heading, tackling

Weaknesses: inexperienced, heavy footed, dirty

Likelihood: 9/10

Mourinho seems desperate to land the Porto centre-back and I believe that the new year will see it happen.

4) Pedro Obiang - Sampdoria

Age: 21

Strengths: passing, positioning, technique

Weaknesses: dribbling, inexperienced, rash

Likelihood: 5/10

The lanky midfielder has been continually linked as Mourinho looks to mould a midfield to his liking.

5) Kyriakos Papadopoulos - Schalke

Age: 21

Strengths: strength, heading, passing

Weaknesses: pace, rash, heavy footed

Likelihood: 6/10

The Greek giant is likely to leave the Bundesliga side when he returns from injury, and Chelsea are looking for a John Terry replacement.

6) Julian Draxler - Schalke

Age: 20

Strengths: dribbling, creative, shooting

Weaknesses: light weight, greedy, naive

Likelihood: 8/10

The way Mourinho sets his side up is perfect for the young German.

7) Cheick Tiote - Newcastle

Age: 27

Strengths: strength, passing, tackling

Weaknesses: clumsy, streaky, dirty

Likelihood: 4/10

 His form has plummeted over the last year or so and is in need of a refreshment. Could Chelsea be the place?

8) Miralem Pjanic - Roma

Age: 23

Strengths: passing, energy, driven

Weaknesses: light weight, dribbling, heading

Likelihood: 7/10

The Roma midfielder has been linked with the Blues for a while now and January could be the boiling point.

9) Leighton Baines - Everton

Age: 28

Strengths: passing, set pieces, positioning

Weaknesses: none

Likelihood: In my opinion Baines is the best left-back in the world. His performances last season back that up, and as Chelsea look for a replacement for Ashley Cole Baines, and Luke Shaw, are the obvious candidates.

10) Lars Bender - Bayer Leverkusen

Age: 24

Strengths: passing, positioning, tackling

Weaknesses: pace

Likelihood: 5/10

Dubbed the next Steven Gerrard, Bender has been making waves in the Bundesliga and would be the perfect driving force next to Ramires.