Football

Frank Lampard urges Michy Batshuayi to improve fitness to earn Chelsea place


Frank Lampard has said Michy Batshuayi needs to become fitter to earn a place in Chelsea’s attack.

Batshuayi has fallen behind Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud in Lampard’s thinking and is yet to feature this season. The Belgian was an unused substitute in the Uefa Super Cup defeat against Liverpool and did not even make the bench as Chelsea picked up one point from their first two league games.

Lampard gave Batshuayi an opportunity to work on his fitness when Chelsea’s development squad faced Liverpool last Monday and the striker impressed his manager by scoring twice in a 3-0 win but it remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old has done enough to warrant inclusion for the game at Norwich this afternoon. “Every training session has to be an opportunity to work and get fitter and train on the edge, whether it is a simple game, possession or running,” Lampard said. “Not just Michy – all the players have to understand that.

“Yes, Michy could be fitter but so can the others. I will work with Michy. What I demand from the strikers is that they work hard off the ball because we want to win the ball back high up the pitch. It needs a lot of work. Also to be a striker who is always going to give defenders a problem by always attacking the defensive line. Michy has the qualities to do that and I want to work with him to achieve that.”

Batshuayi has failed to establish himself since joining Chelsea three years ago from Marseille in 2016 and has not played for the club since January 2018, since when he has had loans at Borussia Dortmund, Crystal Palace and Valencia. But the former Marseille striker is minded not to push for a move before the European transfer window shuts on 2 September.

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Abraham and Giroud have struggled to convince and Lampard believes Chelsea need to share the goals around after selling Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.

Lampard added that N’Golo Kanté is a doubt to face Norwich because of a sprained ankle.



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