- Chelsea manager says midfielder ‘is so important to us’
- Pedro and Willian yet to sign deals to stay until end of season
N’Golo Kanté has made 22 appearances this season after struggling with injuries and Frank Lampard sees the midfielder as central to his plans for Chelsea.
Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters
Frank Lampard has denied Chelsea will fund moves for Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz and Leicester’s Ben Chilwell by selling N’Golo Kanté this summer.
Chelsea are targeting Havertz and Chilwell after confirming the signings of RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech but Lampard insisted he had no intention of losing Kanté, even though the manager accepted some squad members could be sold when the transfer window opens.
Kanté, who is available to face Aston Villa on Sunday after putting aside his safety fears over coronavirus, has made 22 appearances in all competitions this season after struggling with injuries. However Lampard, who is unsure whether Pedro and Willian will agree short-term deals to the end of the season, said the 29-year-old France midfielder was in his long-term plans.
“In terms of N’Golo, I’ve seen some talk and reports about him and his future at the club,” Lampard said. “I’ve said it a lot of times about N’Golo – one of the best midfield players in the world. I would have loved to be able to play with him. He has everything.
“Coming back to Chelsea and having N’Golo Kanté is something I really want to appreciate and work with. Because of injuries it’s been tough for N’Golo. It’s nice to see him a little bit fresh. N’Golo is so important to us going forward. We need him regularly and hopefully we’ll have that now.”
Chelsea have until Tuesday to convince Pedro and Willian to extend their contracts past 30 June. Pedro has agreed to join Roma on a free and there is little clarity over Willian’s future but Lampard expects to use the veteran wingers for the trip to Villa, Thursday’s home game against Manchester City and next Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester.
“We want them to make sure they see out the season,” he said. “Pedro is certainly available. He actually had a bit of a bang on his ankle last week but he’s fit and wanting to train. He’s training well. So is Willian. I have got absolutely no worries about motivation. They are both top-class professionals.”
Lampard said Callum Hudson-Odoi, who will face no further police action after an allegation of rape, must knuckle down after a breach of lockdown last month. “I’m very happy that in the eyes of the law it’s been sorted out,” he said. “That was my main concern at first. I’m very sympathetic to the idea that we’re not angels or saints and we make mistakes, particularly at a young age.
“The big conversation with Callum now is to make sure he learns his lesson from what happened. He broke lockdown and that wasn’t good enough. He’s admitted that and we move on. The next thing is to train consistently at a really high level. He came back from lockdown and got injured early so now he’s having to work hard to get fit again.”
