Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has spoken out on his club’s transfer plans following rumours linking the Blues with Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell.
Lampard took on some of the transfer speculation directly, with the Guardian quoting him as ruling out selling N’Golo Kante as part of the club’s bid to afford their big-name targets.
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The report claims Chelsea are keen to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Havertz and Leicester City left-back Chilwell, who would both no doubt be fine signings for the west London giants.
However, Lampard was also keen to make it clear that he had no intention of letting Kante go, as he praised the France international as one of the best players in the world in his position.
“In terms of N’Golo, I’ve seen some talk and reports about him and his future at the club,” Lampard said.
“I’ve said it a lot of times about N’Golo – one of the best midfield players in the world. I would have loved to be able to play with him. He has everything.
“Coming back to Chelsea and having N’Golo Kante is something I really want to appreciate and work with. Because of injuries it’s been tough for N’Golo. It’s nice to see him a little bit fresh.
“N’Golo is so important to us going forward. We need him regularly and hopefully we’ll have that now.”
We imagine this will be a relief for many Chelsea fans, with Kante a key member of the squad for a number of years now, and a hugely likeable character.
There seems little sense in letting Kante go when CFC could quite likely raise funds by letting a number of less important players go this summer.