Even amidst intense Chelsea interest, Frank Lampard has emphasised his desire to keep Anthony Gordon at Everton.
According to 90min, the Blues have put together a bid for Gordon that is guaranteed to be worth £50 million, with an additional £10 million in add-ons to push the value up to a potential £60 million.
When asked about the status of that offer, Lampard objected to the bid being referred to as a “£60 million offer.” The Everton manager insisted that even though Chelsea’s offer does not include a guaranteed £60 million, it would still not be enough to close a deal in his opinion.
“He’s our player, he remains so,” Lampard said. “He’s in the squad for tomorrow.
“He’s a huge player for us. I said it last week, not only is there big value for the club if you wan to talk financially, but more importantly there’s big value to the squad.”
When the £60m figure was again floated to Lampard, the boss said: “They haven’t bid £60m. Let’s not talk about a number that’s not there.”
Lampard continued: “I’ve been fortunate to work with fantastic young players in my time at Derby, in my time at Chelsea…I’ve seen them develop. I’ve seen them now become England internationals, Champions League winners worth triple figures in terms of some of their personal values, and Anthony is in that bracket.
“He’s been a pleasure to work with. He’s an Everton boy, he plays for us, the crowd relate to him, and it’s all understandable that people will be interested in him because of the level of player he is, but the facts remain the same.”
Gordon, 21, made it clear he would be interested in a move to Stamford Bridge this summer, and Chelsea are still optimistic about closing a deal.
In addition, Chelsea might throw in one of the players Ross Barkley, Michy Batshuayi, Billy Gilmour, Trevoh Chalobah, or Armando Broja, who have all shown interest in Everton this summer.