Frank Lampard wanted to build Chelsea around ‘leader’ who would’ve been captain for ‘next 10 years’
FRANK LAMPARD has revealed he wanted to sign Declan Rice for Chelsea and saw him as a potential captain for ten years at Stamford Bridge.
Rice, who was released from the Blues academy at 14 before joining West Ham, is joining Arsenal in a £105million deal this summer.
But back when Lampard was Chelsea boss for the first time for two years from 2019, he wanted to bring Rice back to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard said: “When I was at Chelsea before I wanted to bring in Declan Rice.
“I was like: ‘This kid’s gonna be the captain of Chelsea for the next ten years.’ It didn’t happen.”
A move to Chelsea during Lampard’s first spell would have seen Rice playing alongside best mate Mason Mount.
The England man, who joined Manchester United for £55million last week, was given his professional debut by Lampard and flourished under him at Chelsea.
And the former Everton and Derby boss says he wanted to see Mount stay in West London but has backed him to be a superb signing for Manchester United.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Lampard added: “He’s a great signing.
“It is a complicated one. He had a year left on his contract.
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“In terms of what he’ll bring to Manchester United, it won’t just be what Mason brings, he will bring loads of talent, but he’s just gonna go up levels.
“There are bar raisers already there; Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro, but he will absolutely fit in with it.
“Mason Mount is going to be a fantastic player.
“Mason would have envisaged two years ago to stay at Chelsea for a lot of his career, he’s got a big love for Chelsea.
“It is a good challenge for him. I would have liked to see them stay at Chelsea because I think he’s, he would have been central. But it didn’t happen.”
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