Chelsea: What kind of squad is Frank Lampard trying to build?

The rumor mill has not slowed down in football’s absence and it is starting to create a clearer picture of the type of Chelsea Frank Lampard is building.

The media likes to talk about a Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp player in transfer rumors. When a player is linked, they either fit the perceived mold of the manager they would be going to or they do not. That image is cultivated over years of certain targets coming in with certain successes and uses by the manager.

With a newer manager like Frank Lampard, that is a little harder to determine. Sure, his style follows a few set patterns. But at Derby County he was able to bring in few players to reinforce the side. At Chelsea he has had the transfer ban. This summer, whenever it may begin, will be the first season Lampard will be able to develop a “Frank Lampard” player and shape a squad in his image.

So what type of squad is Lampard trying to build? What transfer rumors point in which direction and what does the work Lampard has already done say about his goals for his Chelsea side?

First of will be the youth revolution Lampard has already been championing. The likes of Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, and Reece James will not go away. It is worth noting that even with Lampard, it is unlikely that there will be another season with so many breakthroughs.

Lampard has already admitted that without the transfer ban, Tomori and Mount were likely to go on loan again. The manager has done fantastically working around that but a fact is a fact. Billy Gilmour may have a spot next season, but for now it is hard to tell who else will be able to find themselves a spot.

The types of transfers are following a trend as well. The more realistic targets with the most smoke are all around 26-28 years old. They are entering, or have entered, their football primes. Lampard is looking for experiencing just as much as he is looking for someone ready to be a star right away and capable of maintaining that for a few years.

Few of the targets have been younger than 25. Andre Onana is perhaps the youngest target at 24. Jadon Sancho has been linked, but especially with COVID-19 and the financials attached, it seems increasingly unlikely.

So Lampard is building a squad with youth, supplemented by experienced players in their prime. That is not too dissimilar to the type of squad Lampard himself played on in Chelsea’s most successful periods.

The profile of these players linked also tells a story. Lampard wants an aggressive pressing style that plays the ball forward quickly but with control. Most of the players linked are hard workers on and off the ball. The ones that are not are at least able to create something from nothing when they do have the ball.

In general, most of the players linked are also highly versatile positionally. Hakim Ziyech alone can play in midfield and on the wings and those linked tend to have a similar multifaceted skill set. Given Lampard’s love of going from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 at almost any given moment, he needs players that can bend before they break.

Lampard is building a young team, supplemented by experienced players, that can adapt to any given situation. He wants silk just as much as he wants steel. The window has not opened yet and the players linked are only rumors yet, but the idea of a “Frank Lampard” player is taking shape as he gets his first real chance to build a squad.