Frank Lampard has revealed details of his undercover trip to Germany that helped convince Timo Werner to join Chelsea over Liverpool and Manchester United.
Lampard and Petr Cech went to Germany before lockdown to meet Werner and lay out their plans for where he fits into their vision.
Liverpool were thought to be leading the race to sign Werner but the visit from Lampard impressed the RB Leipzig striker and he decided on a switch to Chelsea.
As the £45million signing prepares to make his debut at Brighton on Monday, Lampard has offered some insight into the role he played in convincing him to move to Stamford Bridge.
“You understand that when there is competition from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City that you need to state your best case to the player,” said Lampard.
“Having been that player at one point, I tried to sell the club to the best of my ability when I spoke to players. Petr in his role does the same.
“With a player like Timo, we were very keen to bring him in. He needs to feel that from us. I loved everything that he said to me in those conversations, the same with all the players.
"That manager-player conversation is really important because our relationship needs to be good. All you can do is your best as a club.
“I think we can be happy that we have brought in players of their level. That is just how we tried to work. Now it is stage two, get them settled and playing to the best of their ability.”