Inter bid for Lampard

Italian giants table bid for Chelsea midfielder

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 8th July 2008

lampard celebrates

Lampard: Strongly linked

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Sky Sports News understands that Internazionale have lodged a £7.95million (10million euros) bid for Frank Lampard.

Chelsea confirmed on Tuesday that the Italian giants had made an informal enquiry as to the player's availability, but no financial approach had been received.

However, that situation has now changed with the news that the Serie A champions have tabled a sizeable offer for the England international.

Inter have been strongly linked with a move for the midfielder for some time, with that speculation mounting since former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho took the reins at Giuseppe Meazza.

With only a year left to run on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, and with no indication that he is willing to discuss an extension, the time may have arrived for Lampard to accept a new challenge elsewhere.

It remains to be seen whether Inter's initial bid for the former West Ham will be accepted by Chelsea, but with the club having stipulated earlier in the week that they were unwilling to discuss any potential deal the Italian's may yet be forced to turn their attentions elsewhere.

Incoming Blues boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has also revealed his intention to keep Lampard at Stamford Bridge and will have to act quickly if his tenure is to avoid getting off to a disappointing start.