Lampard joins City ahead of New York City FC move; Rodwell could move to Sunderland
The arrival of former Chelsea midfield legend Frank Lampard at the Etihad on a 6 month loan deal recently piqued the attention of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who queried the move.
“Is it a way to get around fair play? I don’t know.” said Wenger.
City, for their part, quickly moved to dispel rumours that they were bending the Financial Fair Play rules which had seen them being punished with a reduced squad for the Champions League in the forthcoming season plus a hefty £50m fine and effective net transfer cap.
City confirmed that the club would be paying Lampard’s wages in full during the course of his stay.
Lampard, who recently confirmed his move to New York City FC – a new MLS franchise jointly owned by Manchester City – could have joined Australian A-League side Melbourne City alongside former team mate Damien Duff and future team mate David Villa, who also signed for New York City FC this summer, in a bid to retain his match fitness.
At Chelsea, he gained a reputation as goalscoring midfielder with superior levels of fitness in 13 years at Stamford Bridge. He scored 211 goals in 649 matches to become the club’s record goalscorer.
His swift return to the Barclays Premier League, for six months with the defending Champions, will be a stern test for the veteran who turned 36 during England’s ill-fated World Cup campaign in Brazil in the summer.
Lampard will fulfil the role of one of City’s five home grown players in their Champions League squad for the 2014/2015 season – eight home grown players are required for their Premier League squad.
He will then join up with New York City FC to prepare for the start of the MLS season in March 2015.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed the move last Saturday, saying:
“From Wednesday he will start working with our team and he will be with us until January.”
Lampard could in effect replace young City midfielder Jack Rodwell who is the subject of interest from Sunderland who also recently signed goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon after he was released by City in the summer.
Rodwell’s time at City has been blighted by injury, making just 16 league appearances in a total of 25 in all competitions and scoring two goals in two years at the Etihad since his move from Everton in 2012.
The 23-year old could be available for £10m and could help City balance the books if the long awaited £32m deal for French defender Eliaquim Mangala from Porto finally gets the go-ahead.