Chelsea reject Inter bid for Lampard

Chelsea said Tuesday they had rejected an approach from Inter Milan aimed at securing the transfer of England midfielder Frank Lampard to the Italian champions.

The English club said in a statement that they would not consider a transfer of the 30-year-old, who has less than a year on his contract left and has been linked to a possible reunion with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now in charge of Inter.

“Chelsea FC can confirm it has received an official approach from Internazionale to discuss the possible transfer of Frank Lampard,” the statement said. “Contrary to reports, no financial offer was made.”

“Chelsea FC has informed Inter this morning that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer of Frank Lampard.”

New Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was due to give his first press conference as the club's manager from 1200 GMT on Tuesday with the future of Lampard and want-away striker Didier Drogba set to top the agenda.

Lampard is reported to be tempted by the prospect of rejoining Mourinho, to whom he was close during the Portuguese coach's three years in charge at Stamford Bridge.

But his public statements have always stressed a desire to end his career at Chelsea and he was grateful for the support he received from the club when his mother became ill and died at the end of last season.

Chelsea's purchase of Deco from Barcelona last month has added to the uncertainty over Lampard's future with Scolari now able to call on three attack-minded central midfielders — Deco, Lampard and Michael Ballack.