Reports have claimed that Frank Lampard wanted to sign an experienced Premier League centre-back to improve his defence but was knocked back by Marina Granovskaia.
Lampard was shown the door by the Blues after 18 months in charge on Monday, with Thomas Tuchel expected to take charge.
But The Athletic claims that Lampard wanted to add imposing Burnley defender James Tarkoswki to his squad, only to be met with resistance by the Chelsea director.
This was given as one of several reasons behind Lampard’s sacking, which was confirmed by the club on Monday.
The report states that Lampard wanted to make room for Tarkoswki and top target Declan Rice. However, he would have to remove the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger from his squad.
The Athletic also revealed that the former Blues boss was also considering releasing skipper Cesar Azpilicueta.
Tomori did move on, having made a temporary switch to AC Milan, but with no other players leaving that left little room to add to a packed Blues squad.
Having already spent over £200m during the summer, Chelsea decision-makers were not keen on splashing out more cash. Especially for a manager struggling in his role.
Granovskaia not a Tarkoswki fan
Granovskaia was also not said to be keen on Tarkoswki anyway and that caused further issues between the pair.
The 28-year-old England international has played well over 100 games in the Premier League for a defensively solid Burnley outfit.
The player was also available after refusing to pen a new Clarets deal last November.
Lampard had hoped that Tarkoswki and Rice were the final two pieces of his puzzle.
However, he will never get to finish the job he started after Chelsea’s ruthless actions.
READ MORE: Tuchel to Chelsea timeline revealed as three reasons for Frank Lampard failure emerge
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