Frank Lampard gives update on Benoit Badiashile’s playing time at Chelsea
Benoit Badiashile joined Chelsea in the January transfer window for a fee of £35million amidst high expectations. But the former AS Monaco star isn’t seeing a lot of playing time at Chelsea.
He has been an unused substitute in five of our last six league games. Of course, the 22-year-old is struggling to cement himself in the first team, especially under Frank Lampard.
To add to his woes, he wasn’t eligible to represent Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. In such a situation, Lampard could have used him in the league.
But he hasn’t. Now with the season virtually being over for us, fans are wondering why Badiashile is still having to struggle for playing time. The presence of Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Cesar Azpilucueta can, of course, be a reason.
Lampard was asked this question at his pre-match press conference before his team take on AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League tomorrow (May 6).
He had a long response ready, via Football.London:
“Yeah, he’s very close. He couldn’t play in the Champions League. He played against Brighton which was a difficult match for everybody. He’s close. He’s in competition with Thiago [Silva], Wesley [Fofana] and Trevoh [Chalobah] in that area of the pitch. He’s very close. He’s training well.
“He’s come here from a different league at a young age in the Premier League, it’s understandable to have moments of game time, maybe moments of not. To a degree, it’s needed to develop a player in terms of finding your feet in the league as a young player.”
Of course, all of that is true. But this season is well and truly over for us. We have only pride left to play for. However, one can imagine that our caretaker boss would want to field the strongest side each game to finally avoid losing a game.
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His reputation, after all, is also at stake. Badiashile doesn’t seem to be making the cut right now but the youngster, who was signed on a seven-and-a-half-year deal, was obviously brought here with the long-term picture in mind. It is unfair to judge him based on his first few months in England.