“I tried to sign him at Chelsea”- Frank Lampard makes transfer admission about current Man City star

Frank Lampard tried to sign Manchester City striker Erling Haaland during his time at Chelsea

Former Chelsea midfielder and manager Frank Lampard has revealed that he tried to sign Manchester City striker Erling Haaland during his RB Salzburg days. Lampard managed the west London club from June 2019 to January 2021 and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.

Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm with the 22-year-old becoming a defenders nightmare. The Cityzens paid €60 million to secure his signature from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and he has proved those figures to a bargain deal.

The 22-year-old Norwegian international has scored 26 goals in 20 appearances for the Manchester-based club in all competitions so far, including 20 goals being scored in just 14 league appearances.

Now, while speaking ahead of Everton’s clash with City on Saturday (December 31), former Blues and current Toffees manager Lampard has revealed that he tried to sign the striker during his time at the helm of the west London club (h/t The Sun).

“I’ve coached against him in a pre-season game against Salzburg and I was sort of eyes wide open at this young boy who had just signed for Salzburg. It was clear in our pre-match preparation what this boy was already. I tried to sign him at Chelsea, it wasn’t to be, and it was clear what he was going to become.”

Graham Potter would have loved to have a striker like the Norwegian in his current side. The Blues have struggled in front of goal this season and that has cost us some precious points as we currently sit eight on the table with 24 points, six behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was signed on deadline day from Barcelona has simply struggled for goals this season. The former Arsenal man has only scored three goals in 13 appearances for the Blues in all competitions so far.

Other forwards like Raheem Sterling, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic have also failed to find the back of the net, making our side having the fewest goals scored among the top 10 teams in the league currently.

While any manager would love to have a striker like Haaland in their side, the Blues themselves have been linked with quite a few in recent months. The likes of Joao Felix and Rafael Leao have been heavily linked with a move to the west London side, while the Blues have already secured the signing of David Datro Fofana from Molde.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea make progress in contract negotiations with N’Golo Kante
• Chelsea learn raised loan price for Portuguese forward Joao Felix
• Transfer News: Manchester City could target Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell

Given how our forwards have performed so far, it is one department that could do with some reinforcements. It remains to be seen if the Blues sign any new striker next month.