Chelsea boss "delighted" Mason Mount has signed new deal; Ethan Ampadu set for loan move
Tuesday 16 July 2019 10:49, UK
Frank Lampard says he wants Callum Hudson-Odoi to sign a new deal at Chelsea, amid interest from Bayern Munich.
Chelsea head coach Lampard arrived in Japan on Tuesday morning with his 24-man squad, although Hudson-Odoi, 18, stayed back as he continues his recovery from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in April.
Bayern have made no secret of their interest in the winger, whose deal expires at the end of the coming season, since the January transfer window. He remains one of their key targets, despite the Blues rejecting Bayern's fourth bid worth £22.5m for him last month.
Hudson-Odoi turned down an £85,000-a-week contract offer from Chelsea in January - as well as handing in a transfer request - and it is understood the England international is no closer to agreeing a new deal.
"With Callum, of course, I want him to sign [a new deal] and stay here," Lampard said, speaking ahead of Chelsea's friendly against Kawasaki Frontale on Friday.
"I said that before I came here - just talking generally - and I said it when I first got here. He is a player that came through the academy, he is a player that can be a big player for Chelsea and for England.
"We - as a club, for sure - want him to stay."
Lampard, however, has already been able to convince Mason Mount, another academy graduate, who he took on loan as Derby manager last season, to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues' record-scorer is "delighted" the club reached an agreement with one of their brightest prospects and had a message for the rest of the youngsters in his squad hoping to break into the first team.
"I think everyone knows I have a keen eye for the academy players the club have produced," he added.
"And we now have a big batch of them that are fighting to get into the first team. But to be absolutely clear, they now have to make the difference.
"I don't care about age, I care about performance and how people train and how they play. Now it's up to those young players to show what they can do."
Lampard also said Ethan Ampadu, the 18-year-old Wales international, is absent from the 24-man travelling squad in Japan because he could be going on loan this summer.
The Chelsea head coach is a big fan of the defender and tried to get him on loan at Derby last season.
Sky Sports News reporter Geraint Hughes is with Chelsea in Japan....
On a grey and wet Tuesday lunchtime in Japan, Chelsea touched down in Tokyo for a two match pre-season tour after a 12-and-a-half-hour flight from the UK.
Rather than hundreds of fans outside Chelsea's hotel, a more modest 20 to 30 braved the rain, with one supporter making no secret of their admiration for David Luiz - donning not just the named shirt, but the hair (or wig) as well.
The last time Chelsea came to Japan was in 2012 for the FIFA Club World Cup - seven years ago Frank Lampard signed autographs as a player, on Tuesday he did so as the club's manager.
By the time Lampard and his squad return to the UK in a weeks' time, they'll just be getting over the jet lag after their long-haul flight.
In between that, they'll play a couple of football matches. The first of which is against J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale in Yokohama on Friday, followed by a game against Barcelona in Saitama on July 23.
Lampard is clearly impressed by the talent of the young players he has brought on tour, but the former Derby boss is refusing to give any of them an easy ride.
If any of the academy graduates will be able to play their way into Lampard's first-team over the next week remains to be seen, but Chelsea's club-record scorer will certainly be keeping a watchful eye.
