Lampard ready to spend after transfer ban lifted
● Frank Lampard will hand Roman Abramovich a list of players to secure Chelsea’s top-four status in the Premier League after their transfer ban was overturned late this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Champions League qualification would be deemed by the club as a huge success, and the head coach will now speak with the owner and director to discuss his plan to start spending a £150 million transfer budget.
Chelsea launched a blistering attack on their “deeply unsatisfactory” treatment by Fifa after a landmark legal victory at CAS reduced their transfer ban to one window.
The verdict severely undermines the world governing body, which had been confident its two-window punishment would stand after Chelsea were found guilty last season of breaching regulations on the status and transfer of players. On Friday,, the court found Chelsea “did violate” the rules on minors, “but for a significantly smaller number of players [about one third of the violations found by Fifa]“.
Lampard, meanwhile, admitted he would now look to strengthen, despite being happy with his squad. With Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodriguez both running down their contracts, and Willian yet to commit to a deal past the end of this season, Chelsea are looking at strikers, wide players, a full-back and a centre-back.
Lyon striker Moussa Dembele and respective Crystal Palace and Borussia Dortmund wingers Wilfried Zaha and Jadon Sancho are being tracked. Chelsea are also following Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell, who is unlikely to be available in January, and Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, whom they can buy back for £40m.
Lampard, however, says that he will go into the market with caution. “When you come into the club or when you want to go a certain way, sometimes the players you bring in and the attributes they have are key to that,” the former midfielder said. “I couldn’t make those changes. Going forward, it is something I will put to the club.” — © The Daily Telegraph, London