Lampard ‘wants’ €50m Moussa Dembélé; Arsenal, Manchester United also interested — report

Moussa Dembélé has been one of the longest-running names in the Chelsea rumor mill, and it appears that he’s not going away anytime soon.

L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) are the latest to link him with Chelsea, claiming that Frank Lampard himself has asked for the soon-to-be 24-year-old due to the potential (probable?) departure of Michy Batshuayi. While Olivier Giroud had impressed in the last few matches before the pandemic, and has even earned himself a one-year extension as a result, Lampard wants greater depth (and firepower) than just one very young and one very old striker. Moreover, Giroud’s future is still not 100 per cent percent certain anyway, despite the new contract.

Chelsea have apparently been following Dembélé since his teenage years in the PSG youth system, and his past experiences with Celtic and Fulham are certainly useful. He scored 16 Ligue 1 goals this season and has been one of Lyon’s best players over the past two seasons, reaching 20 goals in all competitions in each.

Along with Chelsea, the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are also said to be interested in the goal-every-other-game striker. His price has reportedly dropped by half, from the initial €100m to “just” €50m, with Lyon in desperate need of funds. While the new price certainly looks a lot more reasonable than the earlier price, it’s still rather huge, especially in the current economic climate.