Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will reportedly back Antonio Conte to bolster his defence again.
The Blues’ new boss was not provided with his first choice targets over the summer as Chelsea were forced to act late in the market.
Former Chelsea centre-back David Luiz was re-signed for £30m along with £23m Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina.
But they failed to land the likes of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Conte’s side have suffered defensively this season as a result.
The Blues have shipped in nine goals in their opening six league games but weaknesses were highlighted in defeats to title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.
According to the Daily Mail, Abramovich feels sympathetic to his Italian manager and will hand Conte funds for defenders in both January and next summer.
Despite the heavy investments made for both Luiz and Alonso, it is claimed a backline overhaul is on the cards.
The futures of both Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill are said to be consequently in doubt now after their slow starts.
And the Blues have been linked with a £25m move for Burnley’s Michael Keane as they eye new targets.
Conte knew this would be his most pressing challenge, and a desire to make Chelsea more solid has underpinned virtually every major decision he has made since his appointment.
Sanctioning John Terry’s one-year contract extension, driving the club’s lengthy and ultimately frustrating pursuit of defensive reinforcements from Serie A, signing N’Golo Kante and favouring more combative pairing of Nemanja Matic and Oscar over Cesc Fabregas raises questions.
His efforts have been undermined by circumstances. Instead of acquiring his top transfer targets to bolster a defence that conceded 53 Premier League goals last season, the Chelsea hierarchy delivered compromise signings in the form of David Luiz and Marcos Alonso.
The absence of an established left-back means Cesar Azpilicueta cannot shift across to displace Branislav Ivanovic, who looks increasingly out of his depth. Gary Cahill’s performances have been declining for some time, Kurt Zouma is expected to resume full contact training at Cobham this week after seven months out of action and Terry will be 36 in December.
Without a more productive transfer window, Conte may have to get creative with his solutions – different combinations of personnel, a deeper defensive line or perhaps even a three-man defence flanked by wing-backs, as he trialled in Saturday’s otherwise pointless second half against Arsenal.