Frank Lampard has insisted he and David Luiz “did not have any fall-outs” after the centre-back’s surprise £8m move to London rivals Arsenal on transfer deadline day.
Luiz ended his second spell at Chelsea after Lampard told the 32-year-old that he had fallen behind the likes of Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma in the club’s defensive pecking order.
Luiz trained separately from the first-team squad on Wednesday, however, Lampard stressed that the player had not gone on strike and there was no underlying rift behind the move.
“We had some conversations over the last week, honest ones and the conclusion was that he should move on,” Lampard said. “It’s a position that I have a lot of competition.
“Everyone has to understand that. He has moved on and we wish him the absolute best because he has been a big part of our history. There weren’t any strikes. No fall-outs, just honest conversations. I always respected honesty from a manager, whatever the news and I respected the same back from David.”.
“Him not training was a decision I made as I felt that is what I made at the time. You can’t always dictate where a player goes. He’s a good player and has gone to a competitor... but it’s just how this situation was.”
Lampard will undergo a baptism of fire when taking charge of his first Premier League game against Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford but reiterated that he was happy with his squad, despite being under a transfer embargo, and was focused solely on taking the club back to the very top.
“If I was a Chelsea manager who says I would settle for sixth place, fourth place or even second place then that wouldn’t be right,” he continued.
“I am very happy with the squad I have got now and my focus is working on that. We will see what comes up with the European window.”
