Frank & Jose: Will they be reunited?
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho says Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is ‘the best professional’ he has ever worked with.
Mourinho is keen to take the 30-year-old to his new club, with Inter having already seen an £8million offer for Lampard rejected.
Chelsea have been negotiating a new contract with the England international, but have been unable to reach an agreement.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Lampard to see out the final year of his contract, if the two parties do not settle on a compromise.
Former Blues boss Mourinho is full of admiration for Lampard and praised the player’s willingness to put in extra time on the training ground.
Always focused
“(He’s) the best professional I’ve ever worked with,” said Mourinho.
“He’s the player that trains better, more concentration, more commitment, always focused on himself.
“He’s never happy about his performance, always wants to improve, always wants to learn.
“If he does some skill in a game where he misses it the next day in training he wants to stay one more hour doing the practice of exactly that, of that situation.
“I remember he lost a goal once in a difficult volley with the left foot. The next day in training he was the one after the training session practising that volley with the left foot.
“Incredibly professional.”
Mourinho was speaking as part of Ford’s Feel Football.com debate programme.
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