I would have liked to play with Frank Lampard at Chelsea, says Jose Gimenez

Chelsea defensive target Jose Gimenez said that he had loved the Blues since he was a young player growing up in Uruguay and wished to play with Frank Lampard before the latter retired.

In an interview, the Atletico Madrid defender said:

"I would have liked to play with Lampard. I always used to watch Chelsea as a kid and loved them."

Atletico Madrid were knocked out in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League by RB Leipzig after the Madrid side knocked out the holders Liverpool in the previous round of the competition.

What’s that? Just José Gimenez talking about his admiration for one of his heroes #Lamps watching him on telly growing up in #Uruguay and how he would’ve liked to play with him at Chelsea pic.twitter.com/vN5e3ine0j

— Ollie Glanvill (@OllieGlanvill) August 18, 2020

Chelsea defensive target Jose Gimenez admits about being a Chelsea fan

Jose Gimenez of Atletico de Madrid reacts during a La Liga match.

Chelsea had an encouraging first season in the Premier League under the tutelage of Frank Lampard. However, the only criticism of the former England midfielder was that his side conceded a lot of goals.

The London club conceded as many as 54 goals in the 2019-20 Premier League, which was 18 more than third-placed Manchester United who finished with the same tally of points as Chelsea.

In fact, Chelsea's defensive record was the worst in the top 10, and even Crystal Palace, who finished 14th, had a better defensive record than the Blues.

Frank Lampard's two signings at the end of the season have both been in forward areas. Chelsea acquired playmaker Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and then snapped up Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.

The London club have also been linked with a move for Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, with a deal to bring the youngster to London looking very imminent.

Jose Gimenez is a big fan of Lampard and Chelsea 👀 pic.twitter.com/SBgtzhZer0

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 19, 2020

The biggest problem for Chelsea defensively has been the form of Kepa Arrizabalaga. The former Atheltic Bilbao stopper cost the Blues an astronomical sum of £72 million but made a number of high profile mistakes during his first season at the club.

Nick Pope and Andre Onana have been mentioned as alternatives for the Spanish stopper. But it will be difficult to offload the 25-year-old who has five years left in his contract.

Chelsea have also been linked with a move for Ben Chilwell of Leicester City as Lampard aims to overhaul his defence.

Although it does not seem to be a priority, Chelsea's centre-back position has also been a worry for the former Derby manager, as was evident in the frequent chopping and changing of defensive personnel throughout the season.

If Chelsea do elect to sign Gimenez, he could have a dominating presence in the defence as the 25-year-old has age on his side to get better. However, Chelsea are likely to pay a similar transfer fee like they did for Chilwell to bring the Uruguayan to Stamford Bridge.