Newest Blues recruit of this summer’s transfer window Ben Chilwell expressed his delight at having secured a move to Chelsea FC in an interview to the club’s website after putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.
The left-back signed for Frank Lampard’s side from Leicester City with the former paying the Foxes a £50 million worth transfer fee. Chilwell had always been the Blues manager’s preferred full-back signing despite a number of alternatives believed to have been considered by Lampard.
And Chilwell revealed that speaking to the Chelsea FC boss before signing for the club was a massive deal-breaker for him to join the west London club.
‘I am delighted to be joining Chelsea at this very exciting time for the club and the manager played a massive part in me signing here.’
‘I think every player wants to play for a huge club in their career and I’m no different, but talking to Frank before I signed really made up my mind that I wanted to come and play here.’
The 23-year old spoke about how Lampard convinced him to join the Blues by going into detail as to how his arrival at the club would fit into Chelsea FC’s playing style. Chilwell termed Lampard to be a ‘really good guy’, and expressed his gratitude towards him for his confidence in the full-backs abilities.
‘He installed a lot of confidence in me, he told me about the system he wants to play, how I’d fit into that and he just seemed a really good guy that you could talk to about anything. It’s important to have that relationship and trust with a manager and he’s also very keen on young players being given a chance.
Delighted to have you with us, @BenChilwell! ✊#BenIsBlue
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 26, 2020
Lampard’s inclination towards giving greater first-team involvement to young squad players was also touted to be a major factor in his desire to sign for Chelsea FC, expressed the English international.
‘We’ve seen that over the past season under Frank, he does play the younger players if they are good enough and just from speaking to him, I’m really excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started.
