Report: Lampard Out, Diego In
A report in The Sun has claimed that Chelsea are plotting a massive €35m (£25m) raid for Werder Bremen superstar Diego while pushing Frank Lampard toward the exit.
Brazilian international Diego, who scored for the Selecao in the 1-1 draw against England at Wembley, is being watched by top clubs across Europe.
Chelsea scouts were apparently in the crowd at Ibrox to watch the playmaker in action in Werder's 2-0 defeat to Rangers in the UEFA Cup.
Big Money On Offer
Diego only put pen to paper on a new contract, running until 2011, earlier this season. With repeated Champions League participation meaning club revenue is higher than ever before, Werder are under no financial pressure to sell their star, last year's Bundesliga player of the season, but a significant cash offer may change their minds.
They bought Diego for just €4m (£2.5m) from FC Porto in 2006 but could earn up to ten times that by selling him on. The Sun are claiming that Chelsea are the most likely to stump up the cash for the attacking midfielder, not least after Roman Abramovich apparently ordered a Stamford Bridge clearout, but one insider fears this means the end of Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
Lampard Out?
"Frank’s one of our most loyal players yet, unbelievably, there is still no sign of a new contract, even though we all know he can go on a Bosman soon as he has one year left on his present deal," the unnamed source told the newspaper.
"Now there’s a real fear the club are ready to lose him and bring in a Brazilian who has no experience of the English game. There is a lot of talk going on around the club about Diego," he continued. "There is loads of interest across Europe but Chelsea are the most likely to come up with the money.”
No More Losses
If Chelsea do spend big on the Brazilian international they will need to recoup the money from player sales in order to honour chief executive Peter Kenyon's commitment to reducing the club's outlay and make Chelsea profitable again. Italian giants Juventus, another side thought to have been chasing Diego, have also been linked with Lampard.
goal.com