Chelsea are keen on signing Declan Rice this summer but West Ham co-owner has other plans for the England international.
Declan Rice has been linked with a £70million summer move to Chelsea this transfer window with Frank Lampard being a big admirer of the England defensive midfielder.
He has broken through the ranks to be a part of the Hammers first-team squad and his impressive performances in the Premier League has garnered much attention from some of the top elite clubs in Europe.
The 21-year old made a 100th league appearance for the Hammers on Saturday in their 2020/21 opening game against Newcastle United.
West Ham co-owner David Gold has no intention in selling the 21-year old who he believes is the true representation of the West Ham way.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gold tweeted: “I would like to congratulate Declan on his 100th Premier League appearance for West Ham United – a magnificent achievement.
“I am very proud of him and he epitomises everything that this great football club stands for.”
Rice also celebrated this landmark, saying: “Not the result or performance we wanted last night, but a very proud moment to have made my 100th premier league appearance. Hopefully, many more to come.”
Gary Neville has his say on Roman Abramovich’s splurge of money in the summer transfer window.
Chelsea has been probably the most active team in the summer transfer window and spent over £200m in signing young football talents such as Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz.
Roman Abramovich has put his trust and money in Frank Lampard to turn Chelsea into title challengers once more.
Pundit Gary Neville believes that Abramovich has invested in the younger players for the club’s future and also wanted to see some attacking flair football at Stamford Bridge.
“You always felt there was a feeling from Roman Abramovich, even though we’ve never heard him speak about it, that he wanted football with flair,” he said on Sky Sports.
“He wanted a different type of approach but he wouldn’t compromise that in his search for trophies, so he always went back to a more methodical approach, more mature approach, experienced teams.
“What he seems to have done now is brought into a longer process. He had fantastic academy players, academy teams for years. He’s now giving Frank Lampard the responsibility to use them.
“He’s obviously now investing in young players. I think what he would want to see is a progression towards that top two.
“What I would say about Chelsea this season is there’s an element of we don’t know quite what they’re going to do.
See More: Top 5 Players Chelsea Could Sign In 2020
Two big names made their debuts for Chelsea after arriving this summer – Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
However, fans were taken aback by Christian Pulisic’s exclusion from the squad altogether against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Goals from Jorginho, Reece James and Kurt Zouma helped seal Chelsea’s first win of the season. Werner picked up a knock from winning the penalty in the first half.
“Timo took the knock when he won the penalty,” Lampard told reporters. “It’s more of a dead leg we hope so I wouldn’t think too much in terms of next week there.
“But I would like to think if it’s a dead leg we’ve got a bit of time for him to get back and right and he obviously finished the game from having that earlyish kind of knock.”
“Christian was training with us last week, but he had a little bit of discomfort a couple of days ago where he was trying to train with us and being in contention for today, it would’ve been a big ask for today,” he added.
“But he’s had to take a few steps back so we’ll have to see so that’s one I don’t have big news on at the minute. We’ll see.”
Chelsea face Liverpool next on Sunday and will be hoping to get both key players back in the lineup for that one.
Darren Bent believes that managers like Mauricio Pochettino will be waiting if Frank Lampard struggles this season.
Chelsea have been the most active club in the transfer window this summer and Frank Lampard has spent in the north of £200million to acquire big-time players like Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz.
The Blues spending spree has put the Chelsea boss under great pressure and after a successful debut season with the Blues, Lampard should be on the lookout for some silverware in his second season with the club.
“The next step is trophies,” Bent told Goal. “He has got to deliver trophies as he has bought top players from around Europe.
“Chelsea had a free crack at them and after having a free hit year with a transfer embargo, it has ramped up the pressure twofold. Werner, [Hakim] Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Havertz are all top players. They are luxuries for any manager in the positions they play.
“For me, he has got to deliver. My fear is that if they don’t get off to the best of starts, other great managers like Pochettino will be waiting to go in.
“I am pretty sure that most managers around the world would now quit where they were to manage this squad of players.”
“I think he did well at Derby but, ultimately, I think he should have been promoted with Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori in the squad on loan,” he said. “I honestly think they should have gone up and they didn’t.
“I am not overly convinced he did an amazing job. He did well but he didn’t deliver above and beyond. As far as giving him a platform to manage at Chelsea, he did well this year when no one gave them an opportunity to do it. You have to commend that.”
Bayer Leverkusen’s sporting director admits that his side gave in easily to Chelsea’s offer for Havertz.
He revealed that the Blues got away rather easily with their deal to Havertz. Many clubs suffered financial losses when the coronavirus pandemic first hit and Leverkusen was no stranger to it. Had Chelsea come knocking next year at Leverkusen’s door, it would have been more challenging.
“[Chelsea] simply made good use of the coronavirus period,” Voller told Bild.
“Next year it would have been much harder for Chelsea to get Kai. [Other interested teams] preferred to hold back because of the high transfer fee in this special and uncertain time.”
“We also have significant revenue losses in times of the coronavirus. We will of course take that into account and certainly not completely reinvest the transfer fee we got for Kai Havertz,” he added. “Although we still have to do something to maintain the level or to improve.
“In 2019 we signed Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri, among others – both technically strong players who still have room for improvement and will prove that.
“Bayern Munich are the ultimate team, then comes Borussia Dortmund. Behind that we see ourselves with three or four other teams. We want to get back in to the Champions League.”
West Bromwich Albion are edging closer to the signing of Connor Gallagher from Chelsea.
A number of Premier League clubs have been after the 20-year-old midfielder this summer.
The Baggies hold the advantage over all rivals as Gallagher seems set on leaving on a loan deal. He scored six goals and laid out eight assists in 47 appearances last terms. A string of impressive performances for the Charlton Athletic and Swansea City racked up admirers for the upcoming campaign.
Gallagher has nearly no chance of breaking into the Chelsea senior squad right now which is why it makes sense to move out on loan. Frank Lampard have brought in several quality players this summer and has to deal with a bloated squad now.
The likes of Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech are set to immediate starters but there are already plenty options to surround them in midfield. Gallagher is still very young and enjoying a run of games away from the club.
Premier League new boys, West Brom will guarantee more playing time than his present employers. They will also offer top division football which is crucial for a youngster’s development in the league.
Frank Lampard was amused by Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Chelsea.
The Liverpool boss indicated that not at all clubs can operate on the same model as Chelsea and go on a spending spree.
Chelsea have enjoyed a prolific transfer window with over £200m spent on bringing in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Kai Havertz.
Lampard’s reply was in reference to Liverpool’s own expenses in player transfers under Jurgen Klopp. The Reds spents millions on Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah to formulate their championship-level squad.
When asked about Klopp’s comments, Lampard said, “I found it slightly amusing because when you talk about the owners of clubs, I don’t think it matters what line of business they come from.
“We are talking about some very rich owners in the Premier League. With Liverpool’s story, I referenced it a lot last year. They’ve managed to get recruitment right to a really high level.
“The reality is – other than maybe Leicester – most clubs that win the league in the modern day have recruited at quite a high level money-wise.
“You can go through the Liverpool players – Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, Keita, Mane, Salah – incredible players that came at a very high price. Liverpool have done it over a period of time. What we have done is come off the back of a ban and try to address the situation ourselves. It’s par for the course. There’s no point doing the maths.
READ MORE: Top 5 Players Chelsea Could Sign In 2020
10 things you did not know about Kai Havertz? Chelsea has been on a roll this summer transfer window – averaging the most signings any clubs has made this summer. And luckily for us Blues, Kai Havertz is one of the signings! So in a way to celebrate his arrival, we have prepared this cool fact sheet about the new Chelsea and former Bayer Leverkusen winger. Here are ten things you did not know about Kai Havertz!
He’s good at pretty much every position on field. Well fine, maybe that’s going too overboard but Havertz can be employed in various positions in the midfield. Furthermore, Havertz can play with both feet and display great header skills. He is what the Germans call an ‘Alleskönner’!
“Havertz has a gift with that left foot of his, and he uses the ball like Özil. Sensational,” Voller told Bild in February 2017.
“Kai has exceptional abilities and is already blessed with a footballing maturity that sets him apart from other players of his age,” Werkself sporting director Rudi Völler said at the time.
Didn’t see that one coming, did you? We all thought his role model would someone else, and definitely not the Arsenal player. This is what he has had to say about Mesut Ozil!
“It’s safe to say that I copied a lot from him. I just like how he plays. I don’t exactly know yet how my role in the national team is perceived, Havertz told Sport1.
“There’s still a lot of time, and you don’t know where the whole thing is going to go.
“He has done a lot for German football. That’s why you can say that he has been a bit of a role model for me.”
Havertz admits to being largely inspired by Ozil’s playing style – and has made him the player he is today!
The midfielder and a couple of his other teammates moved to Leverkusen at the age of 15, and lived with a family. Following that, he moved in with his elder brother and lived with him and then got a place of his own. From there, manager Roget Schmidt gave him a chance to play in the first team for Bayer Leverkusen.
“I owe my former manager Roger Schmidt a lot,” Havertz told the Rheinische Post in November 2017.
“He showed faith in me as a young player even though things were not going so well for us at the time. The fact that I was pulled completely from the U19s early on did a lot for my development. I learned a lot from it.”
4. He Became Leverkusen Youngest Player When He Joined The First Team
He was barely 17, when he joined Bayer Leverkusen’s first team. But not a single person felt a lack of maturity, skill, or confidence in Kai Havertz. He quickly adapted to the playing style and even his older teammates would often take advice from him. Former manager Roger Schmidt was indeed very pleased with him and the energy he brought to the squad as only a 17 year old midfielder.
“He’s a proper player for us, despite being only 17,” then Leverkusen boss Schmidt said. “We gave him some playing time to see what effect this had on him. It quickly became evident that playing in front of a full stadium doesn’t faze him.”
5. Kai Havertz Has Never Played For The Under 21 Team
Havertz’s football career started out as he played in the under 16, followed by under 17 and the under 19. However, lucky for Havertz – he was picked up into the first team and jumped a whole level – the under 21. His talent was evident as he entered the senior team by Joachim Löw.
Liked this list? Check out more facts about Chelsea players here:
Chelsea boss, Frank Lampard has received a lot of praise for signing Timo Werner and he deserves it.
Bit by bit, fans are getting to know the effort it took to convince Werner into signing when every other European big gun was interested in him.
“You understand that when there is competition from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City that you need to state your best case to the player,” said Lampard.
“Having been that player at one point, I tried to sell the club to the best of my ability when I spoke to players. Petr in his role does the same.
“With a player like Timo, we were very keen to bring him in. He needs to feel that from us. I loved everything that he said to me in those conversations, the same with all the players.
“That manager-player conversation is really important because our relationship needs to be good. All you can do is your best as a club.
“I think we can be happy that we have brought in players of their level. That is just how we tried to work. Now it is stage two, get them settled and playing to the best of their ability.”
Werner moved to Stamford Bridge from RB Leipzig after his release clause of £45 million was activated.
Former Blues winger Pat Nevin claims ‘Pulisic alongside Werner & Havertz is a scary thought!’
Chelsea has been the busiest clubs in this summer transfer window and has spent in the north of £200m in this transfer window alone.
The Blues have infused a lot of money in recruiting players like Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Kai Havertz.
Pulisic who had an outstanding 2019/20 campaign for the Blues is expected to hit even greater heights this season and a three-main pairing with German internationals Kai Havertz and Timo Werner would make a ruthless attacking trio to look forward to.
The former Blues winger told BBC Sport: “You have got the top two and Chelsea will be nipping at their heels.
“It is not just the fact they have spent money, it is the way they have done it – having Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to go with Christian Pulisic is kind of scary, but probably more for the next three or four seasons as opposed to this one because they will need to settle in.
“So, they are looking good. Everyone knows their problem has been defensively, and the centre-back position might still be one.
“A lot of people say goalkeeper is as well – and it may be – but I don’t think it is the reason they conceded so many goals last season; that was a wider defensive issue.
“I have a feeling they may concede just as many this season but will score a hell of a lot more.”
Former Chelsea player Ruud Gullit also said: “It’s clear Chelsea are trying to break into the top two.
“They have made some good signings but that doesn’t mean anything yet. You never know how they will blend in.
“It’s the Premier League, a different league – different pace, different everything. It’s not easy.”
