Lampard suggests Chelsea are not looking to sign West Ham star despite reports of bid

Frank Lampard has hinted that he is not looking to sign Issa Diop despite Chelsea being linked with the West Ham defender.

Reports have claimed that Chelsea are ready to pay £40m for the Hammers star.

However, speaking at a press conference on Friday, Blues boss Lampard gave a couple of indications that is not the case.

Lampard insisted he would not part with Andreas Christensen – reports claimed he wanted Diop but would first need to offload the Dane.

And the former England midfielder also suggested reports he wants Lyon forward Moussa Dembele are wide of the mark – and that other stories linking players with Chelsea have been inaccurate too.

“He (Dembele) is a player I know and a player the club know,” Lampard said.

“But I’m surprised to see his name pop up so regularly when it’s not popping up in my conversations so regularly, to be brutally honest, and there’s quite a few players in the last week that I could say the same about.”

As for Christensen, Lampard insisted there was no prospect of the centre-back leaving.

He said: “I can rule it out. I like Andreas as a player. What I want Andreas to be is the best he can be.”