Chelsea to look for Hazard replacement as Lampard makes transfer plans

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard identified the area he would like to strengthen following the Champions League win over Lille.

Published : Dec 11, 2019 13:38 IST

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has indicated that his side will look for a replacement for Eden Hazard in the January transfer window.
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has indicated that his side will look for a replacement for Eden Hazard in the January transfer window.
lightbox-info

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has indicated that his side will look for a replacement for Eden Hazard in the January transfer window.

Frank Lampard has indicated Chelsea will look to sign at least one new attacker in January after having its transfer ban halved.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) brought an early end to the original two-window embargo last week, enabling the Blues to become active participants in the transfer market.

An inexperienced squad reached the Champions League last 16 with Tuesday's 2-1 home win over Lille and could now be reinforced.

RELATED|  Chelsea 2-1 Lille: Blues book Champions League last-16 berth

Chelsea scored 11 times in its six Group H games and has notched a further 31 goals in the Premier League, but head coach Lampard outlined plans to seek a replacement for Eden Hazard.

"I think it will be a bit fluid," Lampard told BT Sport after beating Lille at Stamford Bridge.

"There will be discussions that go on from now about where we can strengthen, because of course with Eden leaving we lost a lot of goals, a lot of creation in his particular position.

"What I'm talking about today is that we missed some chances and I think we can probably look at strengthening and pushing and getting maybe more competition in those areas."

First-half goals from Tammy Abraham and Cesar Azpilicueta confirmed the club's progression in Europe, although the result was made narrower than it should have been by Loic Remy's belated response in the 78th minute.

RELATED| Chilwell, Sancho, Zaha, - Who will Chelsea sign in January?

The Blues, who finished second in the group behind Valencia, would have slipped into the Europa League had Lille pinched a late equaliser.

Lampard said: "With the youth, we understand those bumps in the road will come, whether individually or collectively.

"I push them a lot, I'm quite tough with them, and I want them to work and improve. But at the same time, you do have to be a bit patient. That's where the balance of the team and the squad is important – the older, more experienced players do help them.

"We have got a good balance but I think today was a strong sign of how much work we have to do. It should have been a game that was finished much earlier.

"It's been a little bit the story of our season at times and that's the biggest thing, for me, we need to improve."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment