Lampard certain over future of one Chelsea star as exit looms for other pair

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said that he would be “happy” for striker Olivier Giroud to stay at the club, but offered a less certain response when asked about the futures of Willian and Pedro.

All three players are out of contract next summer and, due to the trio being over the age of 23, they are free to negotiate and sign pre-contract agreements with other clubs from January onwards.

Willian has insisted that he is keen to remain at Stamford Bridge while recent reports have linked both Pedro and Giroud with an exit from West London in 2020.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, however, Lampard insisted that the time will come for talks with the three players to begin.

Asked if he had started talks with Giroud, the manager said: “No. All the players that are here I won’t have any talk about January until we get to January. Everybody.

“I am happy for [Giroud] to stay, as with every player in the squad I want them to be here for Chelsea, have the right professionalism and right desire to be here.

“He has shown me that in his training every day this season. That’s what I am happy with.”

Quizzed on whether he wants Willian and Pedro to stay, Lampard added: “It is always an issue for the club as well as myself. I obviously as the manager have full conversations upstairs.

“There’s a money side and a playing side. So I want players who want to be here and perform well for us. I think they both have done that over their careers here.

“So that’s simple from my point of view. I want good players here.”

Lampard was previewing his side’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Saturday, which follows defeats to both West Ham and Everton in the top flight.

The manager said: “I didn’t expect us to roll over West Ham. I understand from the outside that it might have been thought of. But similar happened at Everton. It was a tough match in Everton’s circumstances for us.

“West Ham, we didn’t play well. It can be part of the team talk that if you don’t perform at the levels, you don’t do the basics that you have been doing all season then any team in the Premier League can beat you.

“Bournemouth are having a tough time but there’s no doubt that they have talent and ability in their squad to beat us if we are not at it.”

 

 

Lampard was also asked for comment on the buy-back clause in Nathan Ake’s contract allowing Chelsea to re-sign the Dutchman from the Cherries for £40m.

The Blues have been linked in recent weeks with a move for the centre-back, who has now been ruled out for six weeks through injury.

“I don’t know how clever [the clause] is,” Lampard said. “It is what it is. I think Nathan came through here and when he has gone to Bournemouth to be able to play regular football, I think he has done fantastically well.

“He has shown himself as a really good defender in the Premier League.”