Chelsea Plan January Move for Everton Ace - Report

Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini during the January transfer window.

The Belgian recently cast doubts over his future at Merseyside, by stating that he will look for a new challenge in January or by the end of the season. Toffees boss David Moyes also admitted that the 24-year-old could leave Everton, when the transfer window opens.

And the news has alerted the European Champions, who are in the market for a central midfielder after loaning Michael Essien to Real Madrid and selling Raul Meireles to Fenerbahce, reports Goal.com. There are also doubts over the effectiveness of the partnership between Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel.

The report claims that Everton value Fellaini at around £25m, while according to Daily Mail, Chelsea might have to shell out close to £30m to land the versatile midfielder, who already has four seasons of Premier League experience.

Lampard Confident of European Title Defence

Blues veteran Lampard is confident that last season's success in the Champions League will give the club's new-looking side the confidence they need to defend the title.

The 34-year-old, who captained Chelsea in the final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena last term, feels that the club has moved on from their epic European campaign.

"Winning the Champions League last season was that final piece of the jigsaw for many of us because we had won leagues and cups before. But when we came back in the summer, the club, manager and players all had the feeling that we want to move on from that now," the Evening Standard quoted Lampard as saying.

"The new players that have come in have freshened things up, plus we have characters who are always going to work as hard as ever to try and do more. They are the ingredients that can help our club go on to win it time and time again, like Barcelona have done and the great Manchester United sides have done," the England international added.

Roberto Di Matteo's side host Serie A champions Juventus on 19 September to kick off their title defence.