Transfer ban really hurt Chelsea, admits Frank Lampard
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has admitted that the transfer ban on the Blues in the summer coupled with the departure of talisman Eden Hazard did hurt his team very much. The former Chelsea midfielder also said that a lot of work needs to be done they are to push for a top-four finish.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard spoke to the Daily Mail after the 2-1 FA Cup win over Hull City. Following their transfer ban and loss of key-man Eden Hazard last summer, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard admitted the team “lost ground.” The Chelsea legend was unable to strengthen his side when he took over the reins at Stamford Bridge for the first time because of a transfer ban for violating regulations on young players joining. They also lost Eden Hazard who had become Chelsea's most influential player with 85 goals in 245 games before his move to Real Madrid.
“There's no movement to speak of now. It's clear that we got a punishment in the summer for right or for wrong where we couldn't bring in players and the punishment is meant to hurt you. And we lost certainly one of our biggest players in our history for what he did for this club over the last six or seven years whatever it is. My job I suppose is to work everyday on the training ground, can we get better and to drive that. Then the other part is how do we move forward by bringing in players and we lost ground in the summer. So yeah we're trying to now, we need to now for the short term to push for this top four. I think it's clear I have a strong feeling where we can improve personnel wise to take us going forward.”, said Lampard to Daily Mail.
The Stamford Bridge tenants have been linked with a number of strikers this month, including Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani and Timo Werner of RB Leipzig. Chelsea are expected to lose Olivier Giroud before the transfer window slams shut and an injury to Tammy Abraham has left them wanting a striker.
Thanks to goals from Michy Batshuayi and Fikayo Tomori, the Blues have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup against Hull. But, after the Championship side got a goal back Lampard was upset as Hull produced some dangerous chances towards the end of the 2-1 period. His worries come after dropping points late on in a defeat away to Newcastle and during the 2-2 draw against Arsenal. The Blues are currently 4th in the Premier League table and have 40 points in 24 games. The next run of fixtures will test Chelsea’s resolve and intentions as they take on high flying Leicester City before taking on Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.