Chelsea's January transfer window is yet to explode into life but, judging by the rumours emerging from Stamford Bridge, a new left-back appears to be Thomas Tuchel's top priority.
Ben Chilwell is set to miss the remainder of the season after rupturing his cruciate ligament against Juventus, leaving Marcos Alonso as the only established player in that position.
A plethora of names have been linked with a move to Chelsea to help plug the gap, including Lucas Digne - but the Frenchman recently completed a permanent move to Aston Villa instead.
WIth that in mind, football.london takes a closer look at the other left-backs to be linked with a move to the club this month.
Emerson
The first name will be a familiar one to Chelsea fans. Emerson has been a part of the club since signing from Roma in 2018 but was loaned out to Lyon during the summer.
Reports suggest that he is Tuchel's number one choice for a short-term fix to the Blues' left-back woes and he knows the club and the players, likely meaning he would be ready to play as soon as he arrives.
But the deal is not a simple one to pull off. Chelsea did not include a recall clause in the loan agreement with Lyon and so far compensation offers have been rejected.
Whether it is worth continuing to pursue the deal will be something to consider, or if not, whether their time would be better spent looking elsewhere.
Sergino Dest
The 21-year-old American has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, including Chelsea, as Barcelona aim to lighten their wage bill even further.
Dest has started 12 of the club's La Liga games this season, with only recent injury problems condemning him to the bench, providing three assists across that time.
He is clearly a big attacking threat which will be of wide appeal to Tuchel, who has relied on his wing-backs to provide an attacking spark throughout his time at the club.
But whether it is worth paying the rumoured €20million (£16.5m) price tag to bring him in remains to be seen.
Nicolas Tagliafico
A more experienced option for Tuchel comes in the form of Ajax left-back Tagliafico.
The Argentinian has fallen out of favour in the Netherlands and Chelsea reportedly considered a move at the beginning of the January transfer window.
Lionel Messi has previously endorsed Tagliafico, apparently urging Barcelona to sign him a few years back, but it appears that any interest in him from Chelsea's end has cooled.
It could well be for the best, given the 29-year-old's lack of game time of late.
Layvin Kurzawa
One of Tuchel's former PSG stars has emerged as another possible option in the transfer market.
Kurzawa has fallen out of favour at the Parc des Princes under Mauricio Pochettino and the club are reportedly willing to let him leave for the remainder of the season.
But the latest reports surrounding the player suggest that Tuchel is not in fact interested in reuniting with his former player at Stamford Bridge. That should be enough to rule the move out.
