Frank Lampard has revealed that he thoroughly enjoys working with Mateo Kovacic at Chelsea. The Croatia international has been settling into life at Chelsea FC after signing for the Blues on a permanent deal last summer following his loan spell before that.
The 25-year-old has been a regular fixture in the first team for Lampard’s side this season, with the midfielder having scored one goal and made three assists in 21 Premier League games this term.
Kovacic has also netted once in the Champions League for the Blues and he played the full 90 minutes as Chelsea FC sealed a 2-1 win at Hull City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday night. Lampard has now explained why he enjoys working alongside Kovacic so much, and he feels that there is plenty more to come from the midfielder in a Chelsea FC shirt.
Speaking in an interview with Chelsea FC’s website, Lampard said: “We’ve got a really good relationship, he loves to talk about his game and he’s very intelligent, he listens when you speak to him, and I think he can get better at all parts of it.
“He’s very talented and I love working with him and I want to help him improve because he’s important to us. “I was part of the conversation [when it came to making his loan switch from Real Madrid permanent] and he was one we could bring in because of the situation.
“I watched him last year and liked him from afar. It wasn’t the easiest year for him – sometimes he started, sometimes he didn’t – but I just saw an actual talent in the way he can take people out of the game in midfield and he travels really quickly with the ball and can play really nice combinations.
“But there are other parts of his game that we want to improve. We want to see him score more goals and when he’s in deep defensive areas, of course he has to be very aware to pick up runners and do that job as well.”