Chelsea News: Frank Lampard claims his team is underdog because of lack of signings

Chelsea News: Frank Lampard said that his team is now an underdog after his club administration didn’t make any signing this window.

Before the winter transfer window, Chelsea’s transfer ban was lifted, which gave the Blues right opportunities to bring reinforcements in the squad this month.

However, Chelsea remained one of the few clubs in the Premier League which did not make any signing in this window, which certainly hasn’t made Frank Lampard happy.

The Chelsea manager admitted concern about his rivals strengthening, pointing to Manchester United buying Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon and Tottenham signing Gedson Fernandes, Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso.

“Look at Manchester United signing a big, big player, a world-class player in my opinion,” he said. “And the teams around us, Sheffield United making fantastic signings. Chris Wilder’s job is incredible because he’s had years to work for that group and now they’re adding where he sees fit.

“Tottenham has signed a few, and they’re not far behind us. And not only have they signed a few, but a couple of players have left where they were towards the end of their contracts and maybe weren’t happy being at the club. Sometimes that’s as important as bringing players in.

“This is not to talk ourselves down, because we’re six points clear in fourth, [but] now we probably become the underdogs … because the teams around us have strengthened.”

Moreover, Oliver Giroud’s transfer to Inter Milan also collapsed on the deadline day of this transfer window, which brings a shock to Frenchman as he desires to make into France’s squad for Euro 2020 with regular playing time.

“I have to be the first person who remains positive and I have to be truthful when I speak out loud,” he said. “We know that recruitment is huge for a team that wants to be successful. Look no further than Liverpool and Manchester City in recent years.”

“But it’s a fact. People will get bored if I keep crying about that fact. I have to work. The players have to work. I think at the start of the season nobody had us in their top four. But the reality is that now … it’s going to be a really big fight. Let’s not forget it’s a difficult window. The fact we missed the last window made it a bit more crucial for us. Now we have missed two windows.”

Also read: Frank Lampard explains why he dropped Kepa for the match between Chelsea and Leicester

Furthermore, Lampard said Chelsea were unable to prevent Tariq Lamptey joining Brighton. The 19-year-old right-back was out of contract at the end of the season and rejected a new deal.

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Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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