Frank Lampard has revealed he spent much of 2013 "fully expecting" to leave Chelsea this summer, but insisted that he would never have signed for another Premier League side. GettyImagesFrank Lampard joined Chelsea from West Ham in 2001 • Blog: Blues wave Rafa goodbye Lampard, 34, who broke the club's all-time scoring record and signed a new one-year contract extension with the Blues earlier this month, admitted he had all but given up hope of prolonging his stay at Stamford Bridge. Yet the club's attitude towards his future changed over the last couple of weeks and the midfielder is delighted to have signed a new deal. Manchester United were strongly linked with a move to sign Lampard if he were to leave Chelsea, yet any notion
Tag: chelsea
AVB: Chelsea dressing-room a democracy
Andre Villas-Boas has admitted his age and relative lack of experience make it difficult for him to assert his authority over Chelsea's players, with the Blues boss insisting he "could never be dictatorial" in the dressing-room. GettyImagesAndre Villas-Boas says he gives his Chelsea players 'a certain amount of input' The pressure is mounting on Villas-Boas, with his side currently 12 points adrift of joint-Premier League leaders Manchester City and Manchester United in fourth place. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich forked out more than £13 million in compensation to free the Portuguese manager from his contract with Porto last summer, and his patience is clearly being tested as the club grapples to stay on course for a Champions League place. The heat is certainly being turned
Prem: City win again, Chelsea see off Toon
Manchester City offered further evidence of their title credentials as they demolished Norwich 5-1 at Eastlands. GettyImagesSamir Nasri celebrates after making it 2-0 to Manchester City City had to withstand a confident start from Norwich, but as soon as Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock with a piece of magic, the points were always safe. Further goals from Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson ensured a 12th win in 14 league matches. It took half an hour for Mancini's men to strike, but when they did it was memorable from Aguero. He seemingly had nowhere to go with his back to goal inside the area, surrounded by defenders, but after jinking right and then left he finally settled for a cheeky
Prem Lge: Chelsea battle back, Arsenal suffer
Chelsea came back from a goal down to beat West Brom 2-1 at home, as they kept up the pressure at the top of the Premier League table.GettyImagesBen Foster looks on helpless as Nicola Anelka's shot creeps in• Premier League Gallery • Lomas: Frugal is folly • Jolly: QPR rise to challengeThe Blues were up against it from the start, as Shane Long stole the ball from Alex on the halfway line and ran through to beat stand-in goalkeeper Hilario in the fourth minute. Chelsea offered little in attack and Salomon Kalou bore the brunt of manager Andre Villas-Boas' anger as he was hauled off in the 34th minute.After the break though, the Blues were a different team and did not have to wait
Chelsea turn attentions to Mata
Chelsea are reported to have made a bid in the region of £27 million for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.GettyImagesAndre Villas-Boas could turn to Juan Mata to add creativity to his side• Keegan on AVB• AVB: Modric pursuit not up to me• Redknapp mulls Modric sale• Chelsea complete Lukaku deal• Wenger rules out Mata dealAndre Villas-Boas is known to be keen to add to his midfield, both to increase numbers and to inject creativity after the team struggled to provide record signing Fernando Torres with sufficient service after his move from Liverpool in January.Luka Modric is still said to be on the club's radar - though Villas-Boas told a press conference on Thursday that the continuation of the pursuit will be the "club's decision" - but
Romelu Lukaku Chelsea transfer inches closer
Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku arrived at Chelsea on Monday to undergo a medical and thrash out personal terms as the Belgian international edged closer to a move to Stamford Bridge.GettyImagesRomelu Lukaku is set to become Chelsea's third summer signing • Chelsea agree Lukaku fee• Oriol Romeu focused on Blues• Zhirkov returns to RussiaThe Blues have already agreed a fee with Anderlecht, reported to be £18 million, for the transfer of Lukaku and the deal is expected to be completed in the next 72 hours.Lukaka, 18, would only say he thought Andre Villas-Boas was a "very good manager" when bombarded with questions by the waiting media as he stepped off his Eurostar train from Brussels at London St Pancras station.He is expected to return
Malouda plans to stay with Chelsea
Chelsea's Florent Malouda insists he will stay at Stamford Bridge and see out the remainder of his contract, despite being linked with a summer move to the Serie A. GettyImagesFlorent Malouda has an inconsistent 2010-11 • Cech fears for English goalkeeping• Cole backs meticulous Villas-Boas• Di Matteo happy as No. 2 AC Milan, Roma and Inter have all reportedly expressed recent interest in Malouda. Talk of Malouda's mooted move has developed since Andre Villas-Boas took over as Chelsea boss, but the 31-year-old winger believes he will continue playing under the new manager. "My relationship with the coach is good. My contract at Chelsea runs until 2013, and I want to stay until 2014 at least," he told the Daily Express. Meanwhile, widespread reports in the English media continue to