Frank Lampard has backed ‘fantastic’ Ross Barkley to become a hit at Chelsea following his £15million move from Everton.
Barkley, who was close to joining the Blues last summer, finally put pen to paper on a deal at Stamford Bridge last week, becoming Chelsea’s first signing of the month.
He has missed the entire campaign due to a serious hamstring injury but Antonio Conte is hopeful that he will be able to return sooner than first anticipated.
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The 24-year-old midfielder will hope to force his way into the Chelsea first-team, with competition coming from the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater.
Asked about Chelsea’s move for Barkley, club legend Lampard told the Daily Star: ‘I think it’s a good signing.
‘I think for £15m in the current market, you’ve got a relatively young English player with lots of ability. I’ve trained with him and played with him and against Ross and think he’s got fantastic ability.
‘Chelsea can be a great fix for him to go on and improve his game. For Ross it’s great, for Chelsea at £15m it’s a great buy.’
Barkley will not make his debut for Chelsea in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal but Conte has been impressed by his condition, despite a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
‘[Arsenal] is very soon for him but we must be pleased because his physical condition is good,’ he said.
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‘He has started to have training sessions with us to understand our idea of football we must be pleased. But he needs a bit of time to work on the physical and tactical aspects.
‘But I think his condition is good, very good. I don’t know, now is difficult to say this but at the same time I am very positive because the player is a good guy and showing a great will to work and desire to help us very soon and this is positive.
‘I am very happy to have Ross with us for the rest of the season.’
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