I Wanted Haaland At Chelsea, Says Lampard

Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard claims that he tried to sign Erling Haaland during his first stint at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard coached his former club from July 2019 to January 2021.

“I’ve got huge respect for him. He [Haaland] is a player I tried to bring to Chelsea when I was here," he told reporters on Friday.

“I was very keen to get him but obviously that couldn’t happen. His level was clear when we played against him at Salzburg.

“Credit to him I love seeing players of that level."

Lampard will come face-to-face with Haaland on Sunday when Chelsea trade tackles with Manchester City at the Etihad.

He acknowledges that it is going to be difficult to stop the Norwegian from scoring but insists that he has a plan to neutralise the lethal forward.

“In terms of having to deal with him you have to have a plan and an idea but players of that level can make anything happen at any moment,” Lampard added.