Peter Crouch has suggested that Frank Lampard’s inability to get the most out of Chelsea’s signings was a major factor behind his sacking.
After Lampard scored a Top 4 result in his first season as Blues head coach, he received strong support from owner Roman Abramovich in the transfer window last summer.
Seven first-team additions have been made, with a total of over £ 200m spent on Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to become Chelsea Premier League title contenders.
Of the above quartet, Ziyech and Chilwell may have shone the brightest as the German couple battled for consistency.
However, it is a signature made at Stamford Bridge prior to Lampard’s appointment and discussed by Crouch.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed in the summer of 2018 to replace Thibaut Courtois, who eventually joined Real Madrid, for a record £ 71.6m fee.
Although the Spaniard has not been a success in West London so far. Indeed, his costly mistakes during Lampard’s reign led the club to sign a new goalkeeper in Edouard Mendy last summer.
As a result, the Blues have a player over £ 70m in the bank most weeks, and Crouch believes this played a key role in Lampard’s layoff announced Monday morning.
“They hired a young and inexperienced manager. There was always some bump in the road,” said Crouch at BT Sport. “I think the results haven’t been good enough lately but they have been the best in the league.
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“It’s the first mistake he made. There were so many pluses – he made it to the Champions League last year.”
“It depends on the amount of money you’ve spent and some of those players are in the bank.
“Certainly in the Kepa situation they spent £ 70m on a goalkeeper who is clearly not good enough, but will the owner look at it and think he is not getting the most out of a £ 70m player . “
