Chelsea are planning to put in a request to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the instigation of provisional measures that could enable them to make signings during January's transfer window while they appeal against Fifa's 16-month ban.

Chelsea are at an early stage of putting together an appeal because they have yet to receive Fifa's complete judgment in the Gaël Kakuta controversy, but the club's lawyers have informed Stamford Bridge executives that CAS has the power to freeze Fifa's sanctions until the process is complete.

The constitution of Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), which ruled on Chelsea's recruitment of Kakuta from Lens, contains no provision for appeal but the club can take their case to CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland, as they seek to overturn what they consider to be a disproportionate sentence.

Chelsea have 21 days to appeal once they have received the DRC's judgment but have been given no firm indication of when it will arrive.

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Once the appeal is under way, CAS has the authority effectively to suspend Fifa's sanctions, which, although not guaranteed, it has done in the two most recent cases. In the case of Sion's illegal recruitment of Essam El Hadary, the Egypt goalkeeper, CAS lifted the sanctions pending an appeal at the start of this July after Fifa had imposed a transfer ban at the end of May.

In 2005, CAS lifted Fifa's transfer ban on Roma on August 8 after it had been imposed on July 1, and although the DRC's decision was upheld at the appeal, the December after, the Italian club's ban for inducing Philippe Mexès to break his contract with Auxerre was reduced to one window because they had already served a five-week suspension the previous summer.

CAS guarantees a final decision within four months of the start of the appeal process, and although it offers a three-week fast-track service if it gains agreement from both parties, such a speedy resolution may not be in Chelsea's best interests.

Assuming that the appeal gets under way at the start of next month, a four-month hearing would stretch into February, which, as long as provisional measures are granted, would give Chelsea the January transfer window to replenish their squad. Although this would be an expensive business given the premium attached to mid-season transfers, it is probably the best Chelsea can hope for and would be all the more important given that Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou will be absent at the start of next year because of the African Cup of Nations.

Manchester United's youth recruitment policy came under fresh scrutiny yesterday when Jean-Pierre Louvel, the Le Havre president, reiterated his intention to report them to Fifa over their signing of Paul Pogba last summer. Louvel said he hoped that they would also be hit by a transfer ban, although the extent of Chelsea's punishment may prompt United to offer a significant compensation package to resolve the stand-off.

“We're very satisfied, very happy for French football and the French academy system and also for Lens,” Louvel said. “It's a strong signal to the English clubs, notably Chelsea, who have yet to understand that there are rules that have to be respected by clubs and by young players. That should make other English clubs think twice before going ahead with this kind of thing.

“I hope that Manchester will find themselves with the same problems that Chelsea are now facing. We have to stop this haemorrhaging of players from France to England. We're in a very similar situation to Lens.”