Chelsea boss Lampard to make decision on whether to sell Willian as Barcelona chase Brazilian
FRANK LAMPARD will get the final say on Willian's new deal at Chelsea.
The Brazil forward, 30, is out of contract in less than a year and had an extension agreed in principle before Lamps took over as boss.
And the Blues legend will look at how his old team-mate fits into his plans before rubber-stamping fresh terms.
Barcelona are long-term admirers of Willian and will look to swoop if no agreement is made, although the Samba star will not face them next week in pre-season as he has extra time to recover from the Copa America.
Lampard is looking to keep a players at Stamford Bridge as FIFA have imposed a transfer ban and no date has been set for the Court of Arbitration appeal.
He says it could be a blessing in disguise as he has a settled squad to work with in pre-season.
"It is a waste of time to think about what could have been or should have been," he said.
"My job is to have absolute belief in the players and the week’s training has started to give me that because I can see quality and attitude.
"When you know where you’re at, it absolutely hones in what is important which is the club being together, the staff and the fans, everybody, giving everything to improve daily.
"With the squad we have this season we can be really competitive, for sure.
"It helps my focus. The blessing in disguise is that we don’t have a stressful start of August with the transfer window."
Meanwhile, Ethan Ampadu is heading to Germany and will be playing Champions League football next season.
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Chelsea have received interest from Bundesliga clubs playing in Europe's top competition next season.
RB Leipzig have targeted young talent from England before, while Borussia Dortmund have given Jadon Sancho his chance.
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen also qualified for next season's Champions League.