Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has insisted he has no plans to discuss the respective futures of wantaway stars Olivier Giroud, Willian, and Pedro before January as the trio prepare to enter the final six months of their Chelsea contracts.
The club’s FIFA-imposed transfer ban was last week reduced on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning they are free to sign players again.
Striker Olivier Giroud and forwards Willian and Pedro all have contracts that expire at the end of the season and will be free to talk to other clubs in the New Year.
Brazil star Willian has already said he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and has vowed not to speak to any prospective suitors but Giroud and Pedro may be looking for more regular football.
Asked if he had started talks with Giroud, the manager said: “No. All the players that are here I won’t have any talk about January until we get to January. Everybody.
“I am happy for [Giroud] to stay, as with every player in the squad I want them to be here for Chelsea, have the right professionalism and right desire to be here.
“He has shown me that in his training every day this season. That’s what I am happy with.”
Quizzed on whether he wants Willian and Pedro to stay, Lampard added: “It is always an issue for the club as well as myself. I obviously as the manager have full conversations upstairs.
“There’s a money side and a playing side. So I want players who want to be here and perform well for us. I think they both have done that over their careers here.
One player heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in January is Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake.
The Dutch defender joined Bournemouth – who visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday – from the Blues in 2017, but Chelsea retained a buy-back clause reportedly worth £40million in the deal.
