Chelsea are beginning to show signs of improvement under new manager Antonio Conte.

The Blues swept aside Manchester United 4-0 last weekend, their third league win in a row, and recorded comfortable successes over champions Leicester and relegation-threatened Hull in their preceding league games.

This is all after a tricky spell in which Conte’s side lost to Arsenal and Liverpool and drew away at Swansea, conceding eight goals in the process.

However, Conte’s decision to switch to a back three, a system he utilised effectively at Juventus and the Italian national team, has solidified the leaky defence, and they haven’t conceded a goal in the league since that Mesut Ozil strike for the Gunners on September 24.

Despite their decent run, the Blues lost 2-1 at West Ham in the League Cup on Wednesday night and, with no European commitments, that may have been a trophy Conte was targeting in his first season at Stamford Bridge.

Nevertheless, Chelsea’s good start has certainly given many fans the belief that they could regain the Premier League title, but there are some that still think the Blues may be a bit short in certain areas.

Here are THREE midfielders Conte could look to bring in when the transfer window reopens in the New Year…

Thorgan Hazard

Thorgan Hazard only left Chelsea last year, but never appeared for the Blues in his three-year stay in West London.

Since his departure in 2015 though, the 23-year-old has gone from strength to strength at German side Borussia Monchengladbach.

Hazard, brother of Chelsea midfielder Eden, has appeared 45 times since making his move to Germany permanent in 2015, and scored 13 goals in that time.

But it’s his recent run of form which has grabbed the attention of those across Europe, with his goal in Monchengladbach’s 2-1 defeat at home to Barcelona in the Champions League last month his seventh of the season.

Although he hasn’t netted since then, the 23-year-old is progressing at quite a rate and, with Manchester City reported to be monitoring the midfielder, Chelsea should act fast to bring him back to the Bridge.

He reportedly has a £13 million buyback clause in his contract, which would be considerably less than what Monchengladbach demand of the youngster, so the Blues should act fast to get their man.

Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti’s future at Paris Saint-Germain faces an uncertain few weeks following a disagreement with manager Unai Emery.

The 23-year-old midfielder was less than impressed at his manager’s decision to substitute him after just 59 minutes in their 0-0 draw with Marseille on Sunday, and it lead to a few words being said by the Italian international.

Consequently, Chelsea could follow up their long-term interest in the PSG man, who has become an important member of the team in the French capital since moving there in 2012.

Verratti has appeared 158 times for the French champions, but his spell there could be coming to an end if Chelsea launch a bid for the midfielder in January.

James Rodriguez

Although it’s defensively where Chelsea have had issues this season, they are unlikely to pass up the opportunity to sign a world-class midfielder like James Rodriguez.

The Real Madrid man was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer after a frustrating season at the Bernabeu, in which he started just 21 games for the European champions.

It hasn’t got much better for him in this campaign either.

The Colombian international has started only four La Liga matches and scored just the one goal, which was in their 2-0 win over Espanyol last month.

Subsequently, the 25-year-old could look to move away from the Spanish capital in January if he doesn’t get more first team opportunities.

He’s a player that would get into most sides in the Premier League, and one the Blues should look to bring in during January.