Saturday 24 August 2019 11:47, UK
Frank Lampard says Chelsea need Michy Batshuayi to stay at the club to maintain competition for places up front.
Batshuayi scored two goals in the development squad's 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Monday night, but has not featured in either of Chelsea's first two Premier League games of the season, prompting rumours that the Belgian may move on in search of playing opportunities.
However, Lampard wants the 25-year-old to stay and fight for a place in the first team in the hope that the added competition will bring goals for the club, with the Blues' frontmen failing to score since Olivier Giroud found the net in Chelsea's Super Cup loss to Liverpool in Istanbul.
"I thought it was a good performance in terms Michy got the fitness work that he needed out of the game," Lampard said. "He scored two good goals - two very good finishes - and I thought he worked hard. That's exactly what the game was there for for him.
"As I said before here and I'll say on the training pitch: we need Michy. We need the competition up front with the three strikers that we have.
"As I said before if we'd have been more clinical in front of goal we possibly could have had three wins. The competition is there, and that's the challenge for the strikers.
"We work hard on the training ground as a team to create and also to finish. I used to love practising my finishing in training.
"What I have got is great attitude in the three strikers. But others in the squad also always want to stay out, want to work harder.
"Tammy's goal goes in off the post against United, different story for him, different story for the game.
"But we can't get too down about that, we've got to stay positive and it will come. We've got some great attacking players here, and it will come."
Antonio Rudiger is not ready to feature against Norwich this weekend as he closes in on a return after long-term knee trouble, but could be ready for the Stamford Bridge league match against Sheffield United on August 31, while N'Golo Kante has an ankle injury that could rule him out of Saturday's trip to Carrow Road.
"Kante has got an injury he has carried all week, so we'll assess that over the next 24 hours," said Lampard. "Rudiger's not fit yet, hopefully for next week. That's the only change from where we were last week."
Lampard was that last coach to devise an away win against Norwich, when he was manager of Derby last season, but he refused to refer to them as easy opposition as Chelsea go in search of victories against two Premier League newcomers in the next two fixtures.
"Norwich away isn't an ideal fixture, it's a tough, tough match," said Lampard. "I know that the last team to beat them there were Derby in January, and it was a really tough match that was hard for us.
"They proved it last year and they've proved that the step up is not a problem for them so I've got huge respect for them. The club's going in the right direction.
"That and Sheffield United are both tough games going into the break."
