Frank Lampard laughs off Jurgen Klopp criticism of Chelsea spending

The Blues  have spent more than £200m on new recruits in a summer of rebuilding

Frank Lampard has admitted he knows just how much expectations will rise at Chelsea after the Blues major summer recruitment drive. Picture: Justin Setterfield/NMC Pool W/PA Wire.

Frank Lampard has branded Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Chelsea’s spending amusing.

Chelsea have spent more than £200m on new recruits in a summer of Stamford Bridge rebuilding, but Klopp insisted Liverpool were different from “clubs owned by countries and oligarchs”.

Blues manager Lampard believes Klopp was as much defending Liverpool’s lack of summer signings as overlooking the Reds’ previous recruitment drives that have propelled the Anfield club back to the top.

“I was less annoyed with it, I found it more, slightly amusing, I would say,” said Lampard. “Because I think when you talk about the owners of clubs, I don’t think it matters what line of business they come from, we’re talking about some very wealthy owners of clubs in the Premier League.

“I think with Liverpool’s story — and I referenced it a lot last year, Liverpool’s story — it’s a fantastic story of a club over four-and-a-half, five years that Jurgen Klopp’s been there that have managed to get recruitment right to a really high level.

“And the reality is probably, other than maybe Leicester, which is an incredible story, most clubs that win the Premier League in the modern day have recruited well and recruited at a high level money-wise. And you can go through the Liverpool players: Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho, Keita, Mane, Salah, incredible players, that came at a very high price.

“So Liverpool have done it, and they’ve done it over a period of time. What we’ve done is come off the back of a ban, probably tried to address the situation ourselves to help improve us.

“So I think it’s par for the course, and I think we all know that there’s no point in doing the maths too much because I think we know that Liverpool have spent at a high level, we know they have an incredible coach, we know they have incredible players.

“And the really smart thing Liverpool have done I think is believe in their coach, believe in their system for a number of years. So it’s a great story, but it’s story that has seen money spent on players. And this summer we’ve spent money on players, and now the hard work has to be done.” Lampard has admitted he expects Chelsea’s other rivals to follow Klopp’s lead in criticising the west Londoners’ free-spending summer, but also conceded that is all part of the Premier League battleground.

Asked if Chelsea have to accept their transfer business will draw attention from their rivals, Lampard continued: “Yeah and those are the rules because I would maybe reference it elsewhere."

The Blues visit Brighton tonight, with boss Graham Potter urging his players to embrace taking on the division's biggest spenders.

Potter insists facing world-class opponents is part of the thrill of competing in the top flight and wants his squad to relish the tough assignment.

"I think it's just exciting for the Premier League, exciting for the competition," he said of Chelsea's transfer business.

"There's a chance that the top teams will invest. Everyone does it in different ways, of course.

"But for us we just need to take the challenge on, embrace it, it's what we're here for, to test ourselves against the best.

"We're lucky that we are here (in the Premier League) and we're going to do everything we can to keep fighting and try and get points."

Midfielder Ziyech, signed from Ajax, and former Leicester left-back Chilwell will not feature on the south coast due to injuries.

Veteran Brazil defender Silva is a doubt as he builds fitness following his arrival from Champions League finalists Paris St Germain.

Potter feels Chelsea's spending is clear intent of their desire to become title contenders after finishing 33 points adrift of champions Liverpool last term.

He admits it may be advantageous to face Lampard's men early in the campaign while the new arrivals are still adapting to unfamiliar surroundings.

"Who knows? I can't predict that. There is an argument for (that)," said Potter.

"But the players are top players and they could just gel very quickly and hit the ground running.

"I can't control how quickly Chelsea become the team they want to become.

"I've just got to focus on my team and help them get to the maximum level they can because if we don't do that it doesn't matter what Chelsea do, we're going to struggle."