Frank Lampard wants to bring £140m duo Timo Werner and Jadon Sancho to Chelsea in the summer, with Willian and Pedro set to leave Stamford Bridge upon the expiry of their contracts.
The Blues manager did not seem in the best of moods as the January market concluded last Friday, insisting his side are now underdogs in the race for top four after they failed to strengthen like rivals Tottenham,Sheffield United and Manchester United.
Reports suggest Lampard was desperate to get his hands on attacking reinforcements last month, yet in the end he missed out on rumoured targets Dries Mertens and Moussa Dembele. According to the Daily Mirror, Lampard is now eyeing up potential deals for Werner and Sancho when the summer transfer window comes around.
RB Leipzig frontman Werner, who is also said to be on Liverpool’s radar, has scored 25 goals in 28 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit this term and is widely regarded as one of the most talented strikers in Europe. It is believed the Germany international is valued at around £60m, with three-and-a-half years still to run on his current contract at the Red Bull Arena. Werner recently hinted at a switch to the Premier League, saying: ‘I am open for everything. I was in America for a holiday recently and English football was on all the time.
‘That’s an exclamation mark for the Premier League. But there are also big, famous clubs and it would certainly be fun playing there.’ The young forward will be in London later this month when Leipzig travel to Chelsea’s London rivals Spurs in the last-16 of the Champions League.
Lampard is set to go after Werner and Sancho, who has bagged 15 goals in 27 games for Borussia Dortmund in 2019/20. The 19-year-old could be flogged by Dortmund for £80m in the summer, meaning Chelsea will have to fork out a staggering £140m to snap up their top attacking targets. Two spaces look likely to open up in Lampard’s squad, too, with veteran widemen Willian and Pedro set to leave on free transfers at the end of the season.
Willian, who has racked up 323 appearances for the Blues, is reportedly in talks over extending his stay at Stamford Bridge. Yet Barcelona have long held an interest in the Brazilian and are therefore looking to finally lure him to the Nou Camp for free this summer. Pedro has also been linked with a move back to his former side, admitting he would “leave everything” to head back to Barca.