What will Chelsea do with China-bound Oscar money in January?

Chelsea’s campaign is certainly going from strength to strength, following a shaky start under new boss Antonio Conte. Arsenal dropped points away at Everton last night in the title race, and the good news keeps on coming as the club have reportedly agreed to sell Oscar for a mammoth £60m in January.

It’s not an injection of cash that a club like Chelsea are in desperate need of, but it will certainly help them in the winter transfer window, as they look to strengthen their side for the second-half of the season.

And Oscar’s departure is unlikely to have an impact on the first-team, with the Brazil international consistently being overlooked by the Italian boss.

In fact, he’s not started a league game since the end of September, back when the Blues lost 2-1 at home to Liverpool.

With no goals and one assist to his name this season, it’s safe to say the 25-year-old won’t be missed.

And with £60m to play with, it’s thought Conte will add defensive reinforcements to his ranks next month.

One of those names could be Southampton star Virgil van Dijk. The defender has been the subject of a move away from St. Mary’s for several weeks now – following a string of impressive performances.

And while it’s mainly been Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City that have been linked with the 25-year-old, Chelsea will consider themselves as frontrunners in the race for the Dutch defender’s signature.

They’ll certainly need to add someone to their ranks in the coming months, following increased speculation that this will be John Terry’s last season with the club, and the money received from Oscar’s transfer will go a long way to securing Van Dijk’s services, who’s valued at around £40m.

Another name that has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent months is Ben Gibson.

The Middlesbrough defender has impressed several top-flight scouts so far this campaign, and has been a key figure in the joint-fourth best defence in the Premier League this year.

No surprise then that Boro are asking for at least £25m for the defender’s services.

But again, that’s money Chelsea can afford to part with in the winter transfer window. And that means we could be looking at a very different defensive unit at the Bridge as we head into the second-half of the season.

But what do supporters think? Would the acquisition of Van Dijk and Gibson be money well spent? Who do you think Conte should sign?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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