Former Arsenal player and now a television pundit Paul Merson has backed Chelsea manager Frank Lampard to complete a triple signing during the winter window. Merson seems to be lauding Frank Lampard for more than one thing, during the latter’s ongoing stint with Chelsea. On 5th November, the pundit hailed Lampard’s name in front of the press for transforming Mateo Kovacic into a ‘proper player’. He seems to be liking Lampard’s style of management and coaching.
Chelsea who have been a little off track after the international break must be relieved after the expulsion of the transfer ban this month. The management has agreed on a £150m budget for the trade this January and Lampard is set to target a reported list of five players in order to strengthen the blues’ front-line attack. In such a situation, Paul Merson advised Lampard to sign at least three players from the list to call this window a successful one.
Chelsea are currently placed fourth on the English Premier League table with 29 points in 16 games. After having played six group matches in the Champions League, Chelsea qualified with 11 points just behind Spanish outfit Valencia FC. This stage is very important for Lampard and the players because the knockouts will mean they locking horns against the best teams in Europe.
Merson in his column for Daily Star mentioned Lampard’s need for signing a striker, a centre-back and a left-back. The former English attacking midfielder while talking to Star Sports said, “If Chelsea does the right deals in January they can book their ticket to a top-four finish now their transfer ban has been lifted.”
He also mentioned how he has liked Lampard’s approach on giving youngsters appropriate opportunities to showcase the future of the club. He did mention workload management as a major concern for an injury-marred Chelsea FC.
“They are right in the hunt already but they have teams breathing down their neck now and the youngsters could do with some help. They need a centre forward to take the load off Tammy Abraham for a start. He has done brilliantly but you can’t rely on him alone for the rest of the season,” the Arsenal star added.
While talking about the current situation, Merson admitted his thoughts on Giroud’s departure. Giroud who is a 33-year-old Chelsea forward is set to leave the club after receiving offers from other top-flight clubs. Chelsea are yet to find Eden Hazard’s replacement and they would want to fill that place soon.
Merson said, “I think Olivier Giroud will go. He has hardly played and is not getting any younger. So they will need to replace him.They might need a more experienced centre-half if Antonio Rudiger is not going to be 100 per cent for the rest of the season – and they need a left-back as well.”
“But they do not need major surgery. I do not think they will spend big. Frank Lampard was a hard-working player. He will only want to buy that type of player. He will not want to be paying £80m for a superstar who just does enough in training and does not pull his weight in matches. Chelsea’s kids have done well but there are times when they will need to be taken out of the team. Buy the right three players and I think they are guaranteed to make the Champions League.”
Chelsea will be hosting Bournemouth on Saturday and will expect to bounce back and win a Premier League tie before things get worse.
