Lampard Vows Not To Convince Abraham, Tomori To Choose Nigeria Over England

Published: October 02, 2019

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard on Tuesday insisted that he will likely not be involved in any moves to convince the duo of Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori to choose between Nigeria and England as regard their international football.

Lampard was responding to questions posed to him by Nigerian journalist Oma Akatugba during the press conference ahead of his team and Lille's clash in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

''On their international futures it is not my place to tell them what to decide. I never would do with a player,'' Lampard told reporters.

''There is too much more that is important for them individually for them and their families about where they play their football.

"Unless they ask me in a footballing sense and they haven’t. So that’s their choice.''

Speaking on their Chelsea careers thus far, Lampard stated he is satisfied by the performances of the Nigerian by blood duo.

"Tomori - I worked with him last year.I have a lot of trust in him, that is pretty evident because it was my choice to keep him at the club and not loan him out into the Premier League where he was much wanted by other clubs, because I believe in him.

"It's a different story for Tammy Abraham. He has been out on loan a lot more scoring goals in the Championship. He has been given his chance this year and has taken it really well, scoring goals.

''Infectious in how he trains around the group with a great personality, giving defenders problems, even against Brighton at the weekend when he didn’t score. His performance was great.

"Again, like Fikayo, has much to do," Lampard noted.

Both Chelsea players will face Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen with one or both of them possibly playing alongside him for the Super Eagles in the foreseeable future.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com