Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is believed to be ready to spend £50m in the January transfer window.

Chelsea are set to spend £50m in January in hope of taking Arsenal's place at the top of the table with the club chasing Marseille midfielder Giannelli Imbula and FC Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, according to reports.

Mangala has starred for Porto since making the move from Standard Liege in 2011 and the defender has much more to come at just 22 years old. Having already featured for France at international level he has a release clause worth £37m but Metro reports that the Blues are not perturbed in their pursuit of him or the sky high fee.

The paper claims that Jose Mourinho is hoping to negotiate a fee closer to £25m and is hopeful that his relationship with Porto will help get the deal over the line.

While Chelsea have gotten off to a decent start in the Premier League they are currently adjusting to a new style of play under Mourinho and have suffered a few blips in their domestic and European campaigns.

The side are currently two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table and Mourinho is said to believe that a big investment in January will see them catch up with the north London side who have enjoyed an excellent start to the season.

Chelsea are also reportedly pursuing midfielder Imbula, with the Belgium-born man impressing for Marseille after a summer move from recently promoted Ligue 1 side Guingamp.

While the Blues were believed to be chasing Paul Pogba the side have decided against making a bid for the Juventus midfielder, who Manchester City are now reportedly considering making a £40m bid for.

And as a result Mourinho has put Imbula at the top of his list, believing that with the duo on board at Stamford Bridge Chelsea can leave Arsenal behind in the table and fulfil the Portuguese tactician's wish of winning a title in his first season back at the club.