Ross Barkley has responded well but needs to work even harder, asserts Frank Lampard
Ross Barkley has expressed his desire to be given more opportunities to light up the pitch in the Chelsea outfit. Frank Lampard has decent opportunities to rotate his midfielders but the ideal combination doesn’t seem to strike, ensuring that the English midfielder is still a part of his plans.
A Toffee kid two years back, Ross Barkley was deemed to be a special talent at Everton and it saw him lauded. So much so that Chelsea came calling, but he has since struggled to make an impact on any of his managers. First under Antonio Conte and then Maurizio Sarri, Barkley was never the first choice and while he has developed into a fine attacking midfielder, he still finds opportunities difficult to come by under Frank Lampard.
With his first season in-charge culminating in the fact that Chelsea boss Frank Lampard would only want to see his players produce to their best performances on the field. It saw Lampard admit, in an interview, that he while he wants to play Barkley more, he cannot as there are other midfield options. Lampard also added that the Englishman has suffered from injuries and has worked hard to walk back into contention.
"I have choices not just in Ross but in that area. All the players have been out at times. Ross probably had a longer time out and had an injury that was a niggly one that was around for the best part of six weeks. Some of that was around the early part of the season where Ross wasn't getting in. He could look at himself and say he could be doing better, probably. But Ross has taken that on in the most positive way possible,” Lampard told Goal.
"He has worked hard, got his nose in the team and he does need confidence as a player. I believe that. If he plays like he did against Liverpool and Tottenham recently, then he is going to be a big player for this club. I have been pleased with his recent performances and he needs to keep churning them out."
The English midfielder’s stats haven’t been hugely impressive since his move to Stamford Bridge with Barkley in and out of the team. His recent performance in the impressive victory against Liverpool in the FA Cup was arguably his best for the London side. Frank Lampard notices all the efforts his boys put and is always appreciative of them but he wants them to work even harder.
"You see certain players have had that harder pressure at 18 years old and that's not easy for anybody. The Premier League is competitive and tough. I think players are different. Ross is different, Mason is different, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is different. It is very easy to make those early conclusions on players without knowing there's a long path and everyone's route is different.
"What Ross can say is that he has moved on from it and come to Chelsea which is a big club. If he is playing games here at a big club then that's a success. Gareth Southgate is very confident of picking him for England and he has played a lot of minutes for them. I know he will want more and I get that," he added.
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