Here are the Chelsea morning headlines for Saturday, October 31.
Lampard outlines what Ziyech brings to Chelsea
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard believes Hakim Ziyech can help push his side’s creativity to new heights.
Ziyech is in line for his first Premier League start when the Blues take on Burnley at Turf Moor this afternoon having scored his first goal for the club in their Champions League win over Krasnodar on Wednesday.
"With Hakim we had the potential to bring in someone with real different qualities to what we’ve had in recent years in terms of a left-footed, right-sided player which was his main position at Ajax, although I know he played in a No 10 and he can definitely do that for us if we want to play a No 10,” said Lampard.
"But he does it in a way that he very much about opening up chances for others with his crossing ability and final pass. He’s not necessarily a winger who is going to fly past players all the time, albeit that is in his game.
"He can find a pass and sometimes last season I felt we lacked that when we were playing against low-block defences. We saw a bit of his quality and personality against Krasnodar.
“The idea of receiving the ball and turning, facing forward and finding that pass before teams are set, that is what I’m excited about to see from Hakim."
Lampard wary of Burnley stereotype
Lampard has said that labelling a trip to Burnley as a tough, physical initiation for new Premier League players is an unfair stereotype.
The Clarets are yet to win a league game this season, but after having pushed Tottenham Hotspur last time out, Lampard is wary of the threat posed by Sean Dyche’s side.
“I think with the Premier League it brings different styles but I do get wary of trying to box off Burnley as that game, trying to compare them to an old Wimbledon or a stereotype,” said Lampard.
“I don’t see that. I see a team that are very strong at set pieces and crosses into the box because they have physical players and they do that part of the game well.
"But when I saw a team that played against Tottenham for instance last week, they tried to move the ball, they try and play sometimes through the lines, they have players like McNeil who have quality on the ball and can try and find passes. [Josh] Brownhill and others.
“I don’t think we should overstate the fact that they are a direct team. They have that weapon. They also can play.”
Blues eye bid for Malmo defender
Chelsea are weighing up a possible move for Malmo defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, according to Swedish outlet Expressen.
The 21-year-old Bosnian centre-back has impressed for the Swedes since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2019.
As per the report, Chelsea could be willing to pay up to €8million (£7.22m) for the defender, who is under contract at Malmo until 2023.
Lampard strengthened his backline over the summer by bringing in Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr, with the latter being loaned out to Porto.
