Frank Lampard admits that finishing season without Pedro, Willian and Giroud is possible

So far during the coronavirus hiatus of the football season, it’s almost been taken for granted that a deal can be worked out which will allow players whose contracts might run out before the games are concluded to keep playing.

We still believe that will be the case, certainly at teams like Chelsea who can afford to pay an extra couple of months to their stars.

But it’s not a given – those players would have to accept the terms – and Frank Lampard’s words today on the Chelsea website don’t fill us with confidence:

“We have big players in that position so that’s obviously something I’m looking at very carefully,” Lampard said.

“The ones out of contract here have been great servants for the club and actually have a lot of feeling for the club, but of course they will be concerned about themselves in terms of how they are now, and if pre-season is rushed they’ll want to make sure they’re alright,” he continued.

“So it’s going to have to be something we look at. Hopefully we can have that arrangement so they can stay with us because if we play again I would love the squad to look as it’s looked all season, but we’ll have to see how that works,” he finished.

The Premier League has given the green light for clubs to agree short term deals to tide them over until the season ends, but without even a proposed start date for the resumption yet named, that would be tricky to organise.

Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud are the big names who wouldn’t be available for the Blues should they not agree extensions. It would seem crazy for them to turn down the opportunity to finish what they started, but as Lampard says, they’ve got their next move to worry about.

Brazilian star Willian has already expressed his doubt about playing while coronavirus is still rampant however, and we can see a situation where a deal isn’t sorted out with him.

Chelsea News