Frank Lampard
Chelsea midfielder facing four months out after knee surgery
Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour is facing up to four months after undergoing knee surgery, head coach Frank Lampard has confirmed. Gilmour limped off during Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Crystal Palace following an innocuous collision with Luka Milivojević. The injury comes as a huge blow to the 19-year-old who was just beginning to establish himself, but Lampard is opting to stay positive. “Billy had an operation on his knee, unfortunately, so he’ll be out for somewhere between three and four months,” he told reporters. “I’m obviously very disappointed, we all are and Billy is himself. I spoke with him on Thursday and just offered him some support, really. “He’s a tough boy. It hit him hard – particularly as a young player who’s just made his breakthrough – but it’s part of football and I tried...
Report: Chelsea have ‘stepped up their interest’ in £44m West Ham star
According to reports from The Times, Chelsea have stepped up their interest in signing Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The 21-year-old is arguably one of the finest young talents in the country, and the Blues are looking to sign him ahead of other potential suitors. Chelsea are already active in the summer market having signed Hakim Ziyech from Ajax for £33 million and RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner for £45m. However, the Blues are looking to bolster their defence, and Frank Lampard has earmarked Rice as an ideal candidate for that role. Rice has always played as a defensive midfielder for the Hammers, but Lampard feels the 21-year-old could solve their defensive frailties. The report claims that Rice is a boyhood Chelsea fan. He spent seven years in the club’s academy before being r...
Frank Lampard: West Ham loss shows why we aren’t contenders
Frank Lampard has said Wednesday’s loss to West Ham United is emblematic of Chelsea’s season. The Blues were downed 3-2 by the Premier League relegation battlers, a defeat which meant they missed the chance to moved into third. And speaking after the game, Lampard said the result was indicative of why his team were not challenging for the title. “It happens, it is the Premier League and if you make mistakes like we did, we dominated the game in terms of possession, but make mistakes and teams will hurt you,” said Lampard. “I’m not happy with any of the goals. You don’t get given victories for scoring two goals, you have to be better than that. “There were moments they counter-attacked, which we knew they would. There were details in the game which we knew but we lost because we didn’t get ...
Olivier Giroud explains decision to extend Chelsea stay
Getty Images Olivier Giroud has opened up on his decision to extend his stay at Chelsea, outlining his plans to “keep winning trophies” and show Frank Lampard “he can count on me”. Giroud completed a surprise move to Chelsea from Arsenal back in January 2018, and has since scored 21 goals in 76 outings for the club across all competitions. The World Cup winner played a key role in the Blues’ run to glory in the Europa League last season, but fell down the squad pecking order after Lampard was drafted in to replace Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Tammy Abraham has served as Chelsea’s first-choice centre-forward throughout the 2019-20 campaign, with Giroud restricted to just nine Premier League appearances in total. The 33-year-old was tipped to leave the club in January amid...
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard faced with critical transfer decisions
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is faced with critical transfer decisions when the transfer window finally opens. There are many doubts of the futures of some of his regular first-team players such as Jorginho, Olivier Giroud, Willian and Pedro at the Stamford Bridge. orginhois wanted by Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri, the bond between the manager and Jorginho is still very intact right from their days at Napoli and Chelsea before the Italian quit Stamford Bridge for Juventus. Sarri has proposed a swap deal that involves Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic going to Chelsea and Jorginho to Juventus a proposal Jorginho would entertain in his widest dream as his affinity with his former boss remains unscratched. The Chelsea vice-captain is instrumental to Lampard set up, though Lampard is not e...
Another Premier League player tests positive for novel coronavirus
A third first-team player from Brighton & Hove Albion tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, the Premier League club’s chief executive Paul Barber has confirmed. Two Brighton players had contracted the novel coronavirus in March and April and the latest positive result could cast doubts on the Premier League’s plans to resume the season that has been suspended due to the pandemic. Clubs are due to meet on Monday to further discuss “Project Restart” which envisages a return to play in June once given the green light from government, with the remaining 92 matches held behind closed doors at neutral venues. “It is a concern. Unfortunately we’ve had a third player test positive yesterday,” Barber told Sky Sports on Sunday. “So despite all of the measures that we’ve been taking over the ...
Jesper Gronkjaer: Hakim Ziyech will succeed in Premier League with Chelsea
Jesper Gronkjaer is backing Hakim Ziyech to succeed after his £37 million ($43m) move from Ajax to Chelsea. The Blues completed a deal in late February and the 27-year-old is set to link up with his new team-mates on July 1, with the Eredivisie season cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak. Ziyech will join a group including Filipe Luis, Bertrand Traore, Mario Melchiot, Winston Bogarde and Gronkjaer himself in making the switch to Stamford Bridge having played at the Amsterdam ArenA. Moving to the Premier League will prove a step up for Ziyech and Gronkjaer believes he is the star player from the Dutch side’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018. “Ziyech was the one who has caught my eye over the past two seasons even though he wasn’t produced by Ajax’s academy,” Gronkjaer told...
