Did Chelsea management make a huge mistake? Not giving Lampard the money for Bellingham years ago

Did Chelsea management make a huge mistake years ago? The former Blues coach wanted to bring Jude Bellingham to Stamford Bridge, but it was not approved. Now the English midfielder is a Real Madrid star.

Frank Lampard first sat on the Chelsea bench as a coach in the summer of 2019. However, his engagement was not very successful, so it did not last long. Thus, he was replaced by German coach Thomas Tuchel in January 2021.

It was during his first stint as Chelsea coach that he wanted to bring Jud Bellingham into the team. At that time, he was still wearing the jersey of Birmingham.

“When I first managed at Chelsea, I tried my best to bring Bellingham in. But I couldn’t get it through to the board, who at the time would have had to pay £20m for a player of his age,” Lampard revealed on the Obi One podcast.

Bellingham therefore headed to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020. One of Germany’s most prestigious clubs was willing to pay a sum of €30 million for the rising star.

With hindsight, we can assess that this investment has definitely paid off. The 20-year-old English midfielder is currently one of the best footballers in the world.

Of course, this was matched by the sum for which he headed to Real Madrid this summer – 103 million euros. Bellingham got used to his new job very quickly, as he is the king of the La Liga scorers’ table with ten goals.

So Chelsea’s management probably made a mistake by not granting Lampard’s request. However, the question remains whether he would be able to establish himself in west London as well.

Source: Obi One