Kovacic looking forward to scoring goals under Frank Lampard

Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic is hoping to learn to score more goals under the guidance of Chelsea boss Frank Lampard. The midfielder spent the previous campaign on loan with the west London giants and he managed to sufficiently impress during the 51 appearances to secure a permanent move to the club.

Despite this, the 25-year-old was disappointing on the creativity front with not a single goal scored but he is hoping to make amends under Lampard, who is currently the club’s all-time scorer with 211 goals, he said: “I’m looking forward to working with him a lot. He was an amazing player and he showed last season that he is a good coach as well. I’m looking forward to learning how to score from him because he scored quite a lot and me not so much last season! I’m maybe not exactly the same type of midfielder as he was but he had some strong abilities, especially scoring goals.”

The Blues are currently not permitted to register any new players for the next 12 months after being levied with a transfer ban. Nonetheless, they were able to pursue the signature of Kovacic from Real Madrid, considering the midfielder had already been registered with the first-team squad through the temporary deal last term.

Meanwhile, Kovacic could expect further competition for midfield places this summer with Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayoko in the mix. Drinkwater managed just one appearance under ex-boss Maurizio Sarri last term after falling out-of-favour, but Lampard has recently suggested that the midfielder would be offered the chance to prove himself.

On the contrary, Bakayoko spent the previous campaign on loan with AC Milan, where he made 42 appearances across all competitions. The Frenchman became a fan favourite with the Rossoneri faithful last season, but the club have not triggered the £35m buy option amid the financial constraints.