Chelsea eager to sign Thomas Lemar

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Chelsea will turn to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid with the hopes of signing their out of favour winger Thomas Lemar in January, according to a report from the Telegraph.

Lemar enjoyed a strong campaign in his first season in Spanish football joining the Spanish giants in June 2018 from AS Monaco for a fee of £51million making a total of 43 appearances and scored four goals for Atletico.

This season, however, has proven to be more difficult for the French winger who has only completed 90 minutes once this campaign.

Lemar’s mixed season has incited proposals he could soon leave the Spanish capital. The rumours have aggregated recently further when Diego Simeone seemingly hinted that the player has not developed well at Madrid.

Now reports have suggested that Chelsea have been handed the opportunity to sign him on loan this month for just £5m, with the player reportedly keen on a move to Premier League to revive his career. It has also been alleged that Spurs too at first had shown interest in the youngster’s services, but right now Chelsea are apparently now ahead of them in the race.

Why signing Lemar would be a good choice?

Following the decision to have their transfer ban cut short by CAS, Chelsea are seemingly looking into the market and attack seems to be one of the areas that the Blues want to improve.

Frank Lampard reportedly has drawn up a shortlist of targets and Chelsea are ready to release the funds necessary to boost their top-four hopes.

Chelsea’s main target in the January transfer window is understood to be Dortmund's Jadon Sancho. But getting him in the mid-season looks quite unlikely. This could be the case with most of the top players as the clubs won't allow them to move in the midway.

Hence looking up for some shrewd signings like this could be a safe gamble. With Lemar being outcasted at Madrid and the La Liga side looking to get him off the books, this could be a good piece of business by the Blues.

A loan deal would allow Chelsea the time to assess whether signing him permanently is smart, while also providing them with a high-value attacking reinforcement.

Chelsea although has plenty of options in the wing with Willian, Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic both capable of playing there, however, apart from the Brazilian, none of them obtain the required experience and consistency to deliver day in and out. With Lampard relying more on playing direct and attacking football, Lemar's flair and skill could come in handy to him.

He although has been underwhelming this season, but his previous display of Monaco clearly indicates that he can be ridiculously quick on the ball and has the skills up his sleeve to beat any player in the world on his day. The 24-year-old surely has age on his side and has all the right attributes to slot right into Lampard’s direct gameplay at Chelsea.