Our Chelsea fans here in the Transfer Tavern are looking to Antonio Conte to do the business for the club in the January transfer window right now.

After losing to Spurs on Wednesday night our local Blues punters began to realise that they’re not going to walk away with the league this season and that they might actually need some more players in this window.

Indeed, with the way Tottenham out-classed them at times, some reinforcements could be handy but it looks as though outgoings are a high-priority at the club at the moment.

That’s because, according to The London Evening Standard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is free to leave the club on a loan deal in a bid to give him more game time.

Antonio Conte needs to make a decision about where and when he lets him go, then, if an offer does come in for him and our landlord thinks he needs to make it as quickly as possible for these following three reasons…

He needs to be playing

First things first, Loftus-Cheek needs to be playing.

He’s a talented midfielder with the potential to be a top Premier League player but like all young prospects that will count for nothing if he doesn’t get to step onto a pitch frequently. It’s only fair, then, that if Conte doesn’t see him as part of his plans this season that he lets him go out on loan to begin to prove his worth.

Plenty needs to be done

This could be one of the most important windows for some time and so decisions need to be made quickly and decisively.

If Conte mucks about with this call and dilly-dallys, he could miss out on other, more crucial targets. The Blues need to maintain their edge in the title race with good deals and so letting Loftus-Cheek go shouldn’t get in the way of what could be a title-deciding few weeks.

Allows time for a replacement

If Conte lets Loftus-Cheek go out on loan earlier on in this window he’ll have the chance, should he wish to do so, to bring in a replacement.

Whilst our landlord thinks it would be silly to bring in another youngster he thinks it could be a good idea to bring in a more experienced option just as back-up for the second half of the season. That way Loftus-Cheek gets the experience and Chelsea are not down on numbers for the rest of the campaign.

Thoughts, Blues fans? Let us know below!