Chelsea boss hopeful out-of-contract stars will pen short-term deals

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard is hopeful his out-of-contract players will put pen to paper on short-term deals to see out the Premier League season. 

There has been no top-flight action since early March due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, with all English football still suspended. 

However, Premier League teams returned to training in small groups this week with the aim of restarting the season next month. 

There are 57 Premier League players out of contract at the end of the June, though, including Blues stars Olivier Giroud and Willian. 

Both players are expected to leave this summer, but FIFA guidelines suggests that short-term deals can be signed, provided both player and club can come to an agreement by June 23rd. 

And Lampard has spoken of his desire to see both Giroud and Willian prolong their respective stays in west London. 

"We have big players in that position so that’s obviously something I’m looking at very carefully," Lampard told the official Chelsea website. 

"The ones out of contract here have been great servants for the club and actually have a lot of feeling for the club, but of course they will be concerned about themselves in terms of how they are now, and if pre-season is rushed they’ll want to make sure they’re alright. 

"So it’s going to have to be something we look at. Hopefully we can have that arrangement so they can stay with us because if we play again I would love the squad to look as it’s looked all season, but we’ll have to see how that works." 

Giroud has been heavily linked with a summer switch to Inter, while Willian is a rumoured target for London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.