Deco urges Chelsea to keep Lampard

Deco has urged Chelsea to secure Frank Lampard’s future if the club wants to realise its dream of winning the Champions League.

Lampard has been the subject of frenzied transfer speculation since the end of last season, with Inter Milan keen to reunite him with former Blues manager Jose Mourinho at the San Siro.

The Italian club has already seen two bids for Lampard rejected and the England international is no nearer agreeing terms on a new contract with Chelsea.

The 29-year-old England star wants a five-year deal, worth around 140,000 pounds-a-week, while Chelsea are prepared to offer just four years.

But Deco – who was officially unveiled at Chelsea’s training headquarters on Friday following his eight million pounds (10 million euros) move from Barcelona – insists the club must find a way around the impasse if they are to claim a first European crown.

“Frank is a fantastic player I have played against many times,” he said.

“I have also seen him in training and he is a delight to watch because he works very hard. He has a first class attitude and I am looking forward to playing with him.

“I want to play with him. I’m not sure he will stay but it would be great if he did and we can all play together. You need great players to win the Champions League and he is a great player.

“The Champions League is certainly the trophy we most want to win because Chelsea have been chasing it for a long time.

“I have won it with two other teams (Barca and FC Porto) and it would be fantastic to win it now with Chelsea.”

Deco revealed he had snubbed interest from clubs in England and Italy to move to Stamford Bridge after being told he could leave.

But his Nou Camp exit was not without controversy.

Juan Laporta, the Barca president, claimed the Portuguese midfielder was on a downward spiral and that he would struggle to regain the levels which saw him become one of the world’s most prized playmakers two years ago.

But the 29-year-old insists he is still a force at the top level and pointed to his impressive displays at Euro 2008 as proof of his qualities.

He added: “We won many titles for two years and then it was a bit difficult. In these situations, the blame is usually attached to the more important players.

“But this doesn’t matter to me any more: I am here now at Chelsea, who are one of the greatest clubs in the world.

“I certainly don’t think I am on a downhill slope. When big clubs don’t win – whether it’s Barcelona, Real Madrid or whoever – it’s always a big disaster.

“Players can’t come out of that looking good and it’s natural that they will be criticised because that is football.

“But I still believe in myself and I believe I can still be a great player. I played a great tournament in the Euros recently and that showed what I can do.”