Frank Lampard: Chelsea deserve credit for Declan Rice success
According to Football.london, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has praised the club’s youth academy for the success Declan Rice has gone on to have at West Ham United.
The young Englishman came through the Blues ranks before being let go at the age of 14. He has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best young players in the league at the London Stadium.
This has seen him get linked with a return to the Bridge. A potential deal will however not be cheap, with West Ham seeking a king’s ransom.
“Declan’s playing at such a high level at West Ham, but when other players go down other paths the club should also take some credit for producing them to go and play professional football.”
While Rice deserves credit for proving us wrong, Lampard believes the club should take credit for producing players who go on to become top level professionals.
“When you see across the Premier League and Championship, there are lots of players who came through the Chelsea system. That’s the real positive for us.”
Having come through the Blues academy alongside Mason Mount, the duo will come up against one another on Monday evening.
Close friends and hopefully potential teammates in the future, the matchup will be one to behold. The duo has shown they can work together while playing for England. It remains to be seen if Rice will ever make a triumphant return to Chelsea.
More Chelsea News
- Rob Green believes Chelsea are more likely to offer Olivier Giroud a new contract instead of selling him
- Frank Lampard says that there is no regrets over letting Declan Rice leave Chelsea
- Paul Merson compares Kai Havertz to Mesut Ozil and fears Lampard could face a similar problem
While the club missed out by letting go of Rice, Lampard is right in stating that the academy system deserves credit. The likes of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Reece James have all made the step up to the Chelsea first-team in recent seasons.
Meanwhile, the likes of Conor Gallagher, Marc Guehi, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are impressing on loan elsewhere. Players who left us, such as Tariq Lamptey, Jordan Ibe, Nathan Ake, and Jack Cork have all achieved varying levels of success.