Chelsea are seriously looking at making a move for Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote.

The Blues are a little short in the defensive midfield department, with Oriol Romeu ruled out for six months after suffering a knee injury.

John Obi Mikel, will also miss some part of the season in January, with the Nigerian set to go to the African Cup of Nations in January.

That has prompted the Blues to look at the possibility of bringing in a proven defensive midfielder, with Tiote fitting the bill perfectly, according to the Daily Express.

There will be one problem with that, though, with Tiote also set to play in the African Cup of Nations in January as well; so buying a player to cover for Mikel, when he himself will miss what could be nearly a month, does not make much sense.

However, Tiote is a good long-term option for the club, with Frank Lampard expected to leave at the end of the season.

Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez successfully employed David Luiz in the holding midfield position in the Club World Cup semi-final against Monterrey, and while that might be another option, the Blues will not have too much of a problem in trying to tempt Tiote to come and play at Stamford Bridge, with Newcastle currently struggling to make an impact in the English Premier League.

Meanwhile, former Blues winger Clive Walker has asked the club to go for Theo Walcott. The Arsenal forward is yet to agree a new contract, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.

Reports suggested Chelsea have moved up the order to frontrunners for the 23-year-old's signature, with the Blues willing to offer £8 million ($13 million) in January.

"We all know that with Chelsea being the team that they are, and the money they've got available to them at the moment, any player that becomes available around the world is going to be on their priority list," Walker told talkSPORT.

"Theo Walcott, if he is available, certainly would be someone who could slot into the side because his position is open to someone in his style.

"We've been talking about him for two or three years now about him being the finished article and I think he's getting closer to it.

"Sometimes we give players a certain amount of criticism when they're young and then we suddenly realise they're three or four years older, more mature and they're suddenly doing it.

"We're already talking about Theo being more of a goalscorer now, putting the ball in the back of the net. We're seeing a more mature player but whether he's there yet or not, I probably doubt it.

"I still think he's got another two, three or four years to go yet before he gets to the fully mature player he's got the capability of being."