Paul Merson has slammed Lampard for taking up the worst job in the world.
‘Do you think (Matteo) Kovacic would have signed for Chelsea without there being a transfer embargo?’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I don’t think he scored a goal and they’ve paid upwards of £40m. They’ve signed him because they need another body, surely? ‘It’s not all about this year, it’s a three-year contract, and as a Chelsea fan it feels like a good opportunity to steadily, steadily bring these players through. ‘One at a time, not bringing a four or five and then suddenly Chelsea are a mid-table team.’
‘When you are the manager and the younger players are not better than what you already have – which they are not, let’s be honest – are you going to play [Tammy] Abraham over [Olivier] Giroud?’ he added. ‘That’s the problem. Reece James will be special but is he going to take [Cesar] Azpilicueta’s place at moment? I don’t think so. ‘If you are Frank and you’re throwing these youngsters in, you still need to finish in the top four. You can’t just bed them in with the season not going great and then all of sudden Frank gets the sack. ‘Someone else comes in and reaps all of the benefit with the transfer embargo being lifted – he’ll then have the best job in the world.’
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