"Standards have not been good enough" - Frank Lampard questions Todd Boehly's youth-driven transfer strategy at Chelsea

Frank Lampard has criticized Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly's transfer strategy since he took over the reins of the club, questioning the collective age of his signings.

The American businessman purchased the club in 2022 and has made huge investments in the squad, spending more than £1 billion in the transfer market. The west Londoners have brought in multiple young players like Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, and Mykhailo Mudryk, amongst others.

Meanwhile, experienced players like Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, and Mateo Kovacic have left the club, causing the squad's average age to drop significantly. During his second stint at Chelsea, coming in as interim manager in the final stretch of the 2022-23 campaign, Lampard claimed that the club's standards had dropped.

Explaining his comments on the Unfiltered podcast, the Chelsea legend said (via GOAL):

"I said it quite a lot when I was there and people threw it back at me, I was like: 'Standards have not been good enough here'. You have to have a level of standards to be a top club. Forget about the tactics of the layer on top, things below have to be right to perform, and I didn't see it there."

He added:

"The strategy has been to bring in young players, you've got young kids coming over at 21 from another country, trying to fit into a team. To ask a lot of players to do that at the same time and develop is not an easy thing."

He continued:

"So I think be very careful, I think the strategy of course will be questioned, and I think there have been things done that you kind of look now and ask if it could have been different, yes."

Chelsea will next face Leicester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (17 March).

"I think you should be careful to point fingers" - Frank Lampard defends under-fire Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino

Frank Lampard has come to Mauricio Pochettino's defense amid criticism over Chelsea's performances under the Argentine this season. The retired midfielder insisted that Pochettino should not be blamed for the club's recent woes.

The Blues are sat 11th in the Premier League table as they struggle to find any form of consistency. The west Londoners have recorded 11 wins, six draws, and ten losses in the league this season.

Chelsea are currently 16 points adrift of the top four and look set to miss out on European football for the second consecutive season. As a result, Pochettino has been scrutinized for his side's displays and his future at the club has come into question.

However, Lampard believes Chelsea have deeper issues that need time to be resolved. The Englishman said:

"Now, I think in the summer, to be fair, players moved on, some rightfully so for them and for the club, and new players came in. So, I think that probably would have freshened up the feel in pre-season for the new manager."

He added:

"But in my opinion it was going to be a challenge again to keep moving forward quickly like people would expect, and that's proven the case. So I think you should be careful to point fingers at the manager himself or point fingers at maybe a young player that's trying to find form in the team that hasn't really got an experienced spine there that they can rely on and look up to certain players."