Chelsea news, transfers & rumours: Lampard happy with praise from Tuchel & live updates from Stamford Bridge

<a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/chelsea-great-lampard-becomes-fifth-premier-league-hall-of/32jo9eh2zrpg1k8o542tj8gtc" target="_blank">Chelsea great Frank Lampard has become the fifth inductee into the Premier League Hall of Fame.</a> Lampard joins Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane in the top-flight history books following a vote from the public. The former Blues midfielder has been handed the league's highest individual honour after an outstanding 20-year career which also saw him take in spells at West Ham and Manchester City. <center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> A midfielder widely regarded as one of the best of his generation, viewed as a hero among <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChelseaFC</a> fans and respected across the footballing divide 🔵 Frank Lampard is inducted to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PLHallOfFame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PLHallOfFame</a> <a href="https://t.co/EBZYOdVGjD">pic.twitter.com/EBZYOdVGjD</a> — Premier League (@premierleague) <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1394926763281682433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Lampard inducted into Premier League HoF

Blues icon honoured by English top flight

Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said he is happy with the praise given to him by his successor Thomas Tuchel.&nbsp; Last week, Tuchel said Lampard "laid the foundation" for the Blues to reach the FA Cup and Champions League finals this season. Speaking to <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/frank-lampard-gives-verdict-thomas-24140077?_ga=2.258572173.669097124.1621441513-1534357182.1596563873" target="_blank">The Mirror,</a> Lampard said: “I appreciated his words last week. I was pleased to hear them because I think it's right. I'm not just giving myself credit. But if I was in his shoes I would certainly speak like that so he's giving me credit for the first half of the season. “He's taken it on and I'll give him credit for that as well because to reach two finals and to be in contention for the top four, I know that battle from last year, we were in it last year and it's tough battle, especially in the run-in.”

Lampard happy with praise from Tuchel

Frank Lampard is adamant he made the right decision when taking the Chelsea job after reflecting on his 18 months in charge at Stamford Bridge. The Blues legend was sacked in January, and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, with midfielder Jorginho subsequently suggesting the former midfielder wasn’t ready for such a high-profile coaching post. However, Lampard has responded to any criticism over his lack of experience, and is proud of the job he did during his time in charge. “It’s always going to be a fact as a manager when you leave a club,&nbsp;there will be some players who did not play so much and they might have a feeling or a judgement on how you work&nbsp;and they can make statements,” Lampard told The Telegraph. “For me, I have to expect that as much as I expect the good statements from players who are really positive about how you work. I’ve got no big issue with that.&nbsp; “I’ve seen some quotes saying that Frank Lampard took this job with his heart. I absolutely didn’t. I don’t make any professional decisions with my heart. Maybe I’m the absolute opposite of that. I’ll go over them a hundred times in my head, but I certainly didn’t with my heart. I took it with a pragmatic view of: ‘what’s the situation? OK, this is Chelsea, I’m going from Derby to Chelsea.’ Not many managers would turn that down head or heart, let’s get it right."

Lampard defends Chelsea reign after Jorginho criticism

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud is a prime summer transfer target for AC Milan, reports <a href="https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Milan/19-05-2021/milan-mercato-giroud-in-coppia-con-ibra-4101150535699.shtml" target="_blank">Gazzetta dello Sport.</a> Giroud is out of contract at the end of the season and it is widely expected that he will leave Stamford Bridge on a free transfer. The France international has long been linked with a move to Serie A, with the likes of Inter and Lazio having been keen, but Milan have him high on their list of transfer priorities.

Milan target Giroud signing

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Chelsea to subsidise their official travel package to Porto. Only 5800 tickets allocated to Blues fans though. <a href="https://t.co/Ra9OAr3ZiX">https://t.co/Ra9OAr3ZiX</a>— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) <a href="https://twitter.com/NizaarKinsella/status/1395029163170488324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Chelsea to subsidise Champions League final travel for fans

<center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Congrats bro <a href="https://twitter.com/billygilmourrr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@billygilmourrr</a> ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/kz76I9Czd4">pic.twitter.com/kz76I9Czd4</a> — Ben Chilwell (@BenChilwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenChilwell/status/1394979355990896650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Chilwell films Gilmour reaction to making Scotland squad

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Mason Mount's progress at Chelsea and insisted that he is "top, top level" and an "incredible footballer". Speaking after his side's 2-1 defeat to Thomas Tuchel's side on Tuesday night, Leicester boss Rodgers said:&nbsp;"We’re coming up against a team who are in the Champions League final. "They’ve shown consistently that they’ve got top-class players. I want to mention Mason Mount because this is a young guy I’d heard early on in the season there was maybe doubts around him, whether he should be playing or not for Chelsea. "This boy is top, top level. They can be very proud of him here at Chelsea, the academy, he’s an incredible footballer and he’s going to be that."

Rodgers salutes 'incredible' Mount

<center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The greatest of nights <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 2012. 🤗 Sit back and enjoy. 👇 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1394990088011014145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Drogba recalls Champions League winning penalty for Chelsea in 2012

Timo Werner says that the two VAR decisions to disallow his efforts in the first half are a "mirror of the whole season" for him on a personal level, as Chelsea gained revenge for their FA Cup final defeat against Leicester City. With fans welcomed back to Stamford Bridge, the Blues held off a late Foxes fightback to overhaul them in the race for the Premier League top four and further bolster their Champions League credentials for next season, ahead of their final clash with Manchester City. Yet they could have been long out of sight had Werner not seen two early finishes chalked off, and the forward admitted that he has often felt personally thwarted by the VAR system this term. Read the full story on <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/always-close-then-at-the-end-not-really-werner-says-var/d1jkulul23ck1d6bcoap5bxmc" target="_blank">Goal</a>.

Werner says VAR decisions 'mirror of the whole season'

Wolfsburg defender&nbsp;Maxence Lacroix is the subject of interest from Chelsea - according to <a href="https://twitter.com/Sky_MaxB/status/1394690256709066754" target="_blank">Sky Germany.</a> The 21-year-old has rejected a new contract from the Bundesliga club, who will consider selling him for around €30 million (£26m/$37m) this summer. Lacroix has featured in 35 games across all competitions for Wolfsburg this term, scoring two goals.

Chelsea interested in Wolfsburg defender Lacroix

As Thomas Tuchel sits on the brink of completing an incredible rescue job, Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella pays tribute to the German genius: <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/tuchel-tantalisingly-close-to-achieving-chelseas-mission/1jdul40jr7sol1tmcyi5lmdxxn" target="_blank">Tuchel tantalisingly close to achieving Chelsea's Mission: Impossible</a>

Mission: Impossible almost complete

<center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Tino Livramento, the 2020/21 Academy Player of the Year! 👏 <a href="https://t.co/2BOk3vFL1W">pic.twitter.com/2BOk3vFL1W</a> — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1394926311378935808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Congratulations on a fantastic year, Tino! 👊 <a href="https://t.co/PdeaKKtCjE">pic.twitter.com/PdeaKKtCjE</a> — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1394930193760927744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Livramento named Academy Player of the Year

With Chelsea being linked with a move for Monaco's midfield starlet Aurelien Tchouameni, French football expert Robin Bairner looks at why the 21-year-old has seen his value skyrocket over the past 18 months. <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/aurelien-tchouameni-the-monaco-midfield-monster-being-linked/q3w72lfb2pn019g7sqdu322c2" target="_blank">Check out the full feature on Goal</a>

Tchouameni: Monaco's 'monster' being linked with Chelsea

Antonio Rudiger stated Chelsea had to 'punish' Leicester for their post-match celebrations after Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley. Leicester won the showpiece 1-0 at the weekend and a video of Daniel Amartey throwing a Chelsea pennant to the floor in the changing rooms afterwards fired up the Blues for the Premier League rematch on Tuesday. Rudiger scored the opening goal in a 2-1 victory for Chelsea, which kept them in control of their top-four fate, while there was also a scuffle between the players at Stamford Bridge. "Unfortunately some people in the Leicester team don't know how to celebrate and we had to punish them, 100%,"&nbsp;Rudiger told <a href="https://www.chelseafc.com/en/videos/v/2021/05/18/-i-don_t-know-why-i-score-against-leicester-but-im-very-happy-ab-IvouaEKt" target="_blank">Chelsea TV.</a> "Some of them gave us a bit more motivation after Saturday. Congratulations to them for winning, celebrate and everything, but don't disrespect club history. This is a bit bigger than you."

Rudiger: We had to punish Leicester

<center> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> Thigh in the sky! Antonio Rudiger will probably never score with this part of his body again 😎<a href="https://t.co/abZ9pepIGN">pic.twitter.com/abZ9pepIGN</a> — Goal (@goal) <a href="https://twitter.com/goal/status/1394880497164115969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="async" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

WATCH: Rudiger's goal against Leicester

Thomas Tuchel was left feeling 'frustrated' by decisions, despite Chelsea boosting their top-four hopes with a 2-1 victory over Leicester. Timo Werner was denied a penalty, and Chelsea also had two goals disallowed, to leave Tuchel unhappy with how the decision-making process is reached. "We are frustrated with the decisions. Against Arsenal we were denied a clear goal with the hand, two or three metres from the line it was a handball rather than a goal and VAR is not checking. "Then we lose a final at Wembley because of a handball from Leicester that led to a goal. Today we have a clear penalty and it's suddenly we have a foul against Timo Werner. It's a bit hard to overcome these decisions in every match. Then we have another handball and an offside, whatever. "With handball and offside there are hopefully no discussions but today there was an offside goal against Man Utd that didn't get overruled by VAR. Anything can happen. I am totally for VAR and for having clear decisions when they are needed. At the moment, these three crucial decisions against us are very hard to understand."

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Chelsea news, transfers & rumours: Lampard defends reign after Jorginho criticism & live updates from Stamford Bridge | Goal.com

Goal brings you all the latest news and transfer reports from Chelsea and our Blues correspondent Nizaar Kinsella