Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Paul Merson believes Frank Lampard won’t be under immense pressure from the fans, should he take up the managerial duties with the club. The 40-year-old has recently emerged as the outright favourite to become the new Blues boss following the departure of Maurizio Sarri to Juventus.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Merson said that the current transfer ban should prove an advantage for Lampard, given it may help him to ease into the job. He added that the former England international should have a good knowledge regarding some of the young players in the setup and they may get the chance to impress under his tutelage.

France international Olivier Giroud has committed his future to Chelsea by penning a fresh one-year deal. The striker had previously spoken about the prospect of leaving the Blues amid the reduced gametime in the Premier League but he has made a surprise U-turn to extend his contract for another campaign.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “I feel very good at Chelsea, in the club. My family has settled well, myself also. We have a very good squad, a good understanding all together on and off the pitch. I really wanted to carry on and I think the club has given me its trust. It means they are happy with what I have achieved until now. I really want to do more and reward them for the trust they have given to me.”

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has said that he will respect the contract decision of Eden Hazard when the season comes to a close. The Belgium international has just 13 months remaining on his existing deal with the club and reports indicate that he is likely to head through the exit door with Real Madrid lurking to secure his signature.

Speaking after the 0-0 draw against Leicester City, Sarri said that he is hopeful that Hazard will remain with the club but he will respect any decision taken by the Belgian regarding his career, he told: "I hope he will stay. I think Eden has played here in Chelsea for seven seasons, trying in every match to do his best and now it's time to respect his decision."

Gonzalo Higuain says that criticism doesn’t affect him emotionally anymore as it used to do to him earlier when he was a youngster. It actually used to disturb him so much that he would opt to remain inside most of the time because he was afraid if he stepped out and went into the public areas, he might have to hear some unpleasant things about himself and he was mentally not prepared to hear that.

But now it’s not the case because now he has understood the fact that it’s only a sport and even if he makes a mistake on the pitch, that’s okay, he doesn’t need to lock himself in for that.

Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud has admitted that he is frustrated at the lack of playing time with Chelsea – especially after the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain. The 32-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season but he has only featured in six Premier league games from the start so far. After winning the World Cup with the French national team, Giroud was expecting more games with the Chelsea team that also managed to lift the FA Cup last season. However, he had to fight for his first-team spot with Alvaro Morata in the first half of the campaign and this fight has shifted towards Gonzalo Higuain in the second half of the campaign.

Even though Higuain has struggled for goals and has only been able to score against Huddersfield and Fulham, he has retained his first-team spot much to the annoyance of Giroud. In contrast, the Frenchman has been able to come up with a string of goals in the Europa League. Chelsea are unlikely to let Giroud leave very easily, as they have the option of extending his contract by an additional year. This is very much important for Chelsea due to the recent two window ban for signing players. Giroud will be concerned about losing his place in the French national team if the situation continues even further.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has said that manager Maurizio Sarri has learned to adapt to the Premier League following the club’s embarrassing 6-0 defeat at Manchester City last month. The Italian’s future came under serious question following the drubbing at the Etihad Stadium but he has since managed to sort out the team’s performances.

Speaking to Goal.com, Rudiger highlighted that Sarri has got the opportunity to adapt following the embarrassment in Manchester and this has been quite evident with the performances against City in the League Cup final and Tottenham Hotspur recently, he said: “I think everyone has adapted to new things — also the coach. You saw the way we played against Tottenham and Manchester City [in the past week]? It was different to the way we played in the first three months. Everyone needs to adapt. Have we found a good balance of how to play? Definitely. In life, you need to adapt to things. This League is different to Italy, you have to adjust a bit.”