Plenty of Chelsea fans have expressed their unhappiness after seeing the club linked with a big-money move to sign West Ham defender Issa Diop.
A recent report from the Express claims that Lampard’s men are ‘poised’ to make a £40 million move for the French defender.
Lampard appears eager to strengthen at the back this month, with Sky Sports also citing Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake as a potential target for the Blues, who have a £40m buy-back clause for the Dutchman.
After seeing the links to Diop, these Chelsea fans on social media weren’t particularly pleased.
Twitter: @ChelsTransfer more like issa waste of money (@trvpxc)
Twitter: @ChelsTransfer Who are those people doing scouting for Chelsea (@Korbemanuelx)
Twitter: @ChelsTransfer 🙁 (@PureCfc)
Twitter: @ChelsTransfer This team is downgrading… 😭.. (@ThobaniMpungos2)
Twitter: @ChelsTransfer He is the worst defender in the EPL, clears the ball to an opponent and can’t cover for a teammate,… https://t.co/OfqHBlmJod (@meiclinton147)
Read Chelsea verdict
When comparing both Ake and Diop as potential targets for the Blues, the former looks to be the much better option, both in terms of potential cost and performance.
Chelsea know that they can get a move done for Ake at a set fee of £40 million due to the buy-back clause they inserted into the deal that saw him join Bournemouth permanently.
On the pitch, Ake looks like the better option too. As per WhoScored, the 24-year-old commits fewer fouls per game (0.3) when compared to Diop (1.1).
The Bournemouth defender has also been given a 6.79 rating for his performances in the 16 Premier League appearances he’s made this season – by no means outstanding but it is an improvement on Diop’s rating of just 6.56.
Lampard will also be aware that having come through the ranks at Stamford Bridge, Ake is a player that will be more familiar with the surroundings, something that could help him hit the ground running in London.
