Chelsea just cannot stay out of the headlines right now, can they? The Blues are England’s dominant force in the Premier League with a massive advantage over their nearest rivals in the race for the title after making it eleven wins from eleven games and 33 points from a possible 33 by beating Crystal Palace on the weekend.

And it’s not just on the pitch that things are going well, with the Blues looking set to do some pretty intelligent transfer business over the coming weeks, too. Indeed, outcast midfielder Oscar is on the verge of joining Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG for a staggering £60m, which is some fee to receive for a player who’s played just 456 minutes of Premier League football this term!

On top of this, the Mirror claim that £75m could land them Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, which would be some deal for a net spend of around £15m!

Here are FIVE reasons this deal is a must for Chelsea next month…

Strike while the iron is hot

It’s often said that the January transfer window is not the ideal time to get big business done, but that really should not deter Chelsea. Typically, top end teams don’t have the cash to throw away mid-season and are slightly reserved when it comes to taking a punt on a player who will be expected to transition quickly, so Chelsea may have a relatively uncluttered run at Rodriguez, albeit they will surely face some competition.

Should the £60m for Oscar arrive promptly from China, the London club would be making a small net spend, which is not a state of affairs many, if any, of their rival suitors could expect.

He wants out…

Speaking after Real Madrid’s Club World Cup win on the weekend, Rodriguez said:

"I can't assure I will stay at Real Madrid.

"I have offers and seven days left to think about my future.

"I am happy in Madrid, but I want to play more. I have a bitter feeling as I wanted to play the final, but I am happy for the title. It's the 15th title in my career."

Although he maintains that he’s content in Madrid, it’s clear that the Colombia international has accepted that life away from the Bernabeu may be better for his career. It’s not often players of such quality become available, so Chelsea cannot afford to miss an opportunity.

Direct replacement

Although Oscar has been used sparingly by Conte this term, there’s no doubt that he’ll need replacing. The Brazilian is a silky, creative attacking midfielder, so getting in a player with a similar skillset makes a whole lot of sense, and Rodriguez does offer many of the same qualities as his continental compatriot, plus much, much more.

The former Porto and Monaco man is more adept in wide areas than Oscar which will make him a better fit in this Chelsea team, and a three-man attack with Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Rodriguez would surely be too much for most Premier League defences to cope with.

Statement of intent

Sitting pretty atop the Premier League table, Chelsea are in prime position to stride away with the title. But, it’s still relatively early in the season, so the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all remain confident of bridging gaps between themselves at the Stamford Bridge side, but their motivation will surely be hit should Conte draft in a top, top player.

Rodriguez would immediately improve the Blues’ first-team squad and knock confidence within all of their rivals’ camps.

Goals and assists

Even though Rodriguez’s spell in Spain has not been the success many would have hoped for, he’s still managed to net 21 La Liga goals and notch 23 assists in just over two seasons. Further to this, he’s been a goalscorer in the Champions League and was a regular in terms of putting the ball in the back of the net while at Monaco in his breakout 2013/14 season.

On top of that, he scored in specular fashion in the 2014 World Cup and finished top of the charts with six to his name in Brazil.