Frank Lampard refused to give too much away when it came to the situation regarding N'Golo Kante's future at the club, but hailed the midfielder as "one of the best in the world".
Kante's current deal at Stamford Bridge is due to expire at the end of the season but Chelsea remain confident they can strike an agreement with the Frenchman's entourage to extend his stay. football.london understands the 32-year-old is very happy in west London and would like to agree fresh terms with the club he's been at since signing from Leicester City in the summer of 2016.
Lampard, like every Chelsea head coach this season, has been asked a lot about Kante since returning to the club, but refused to provide too much information on his situation and whether he will be there next season. He said: "I'll stay away from that part [contract question], that's for the club and N'Golo to talk about.
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"Having worked with N'Golo before, he's an incredible player. He's one of the best I've been fortunate enough to work with. I know the positives of having him and the negatives of not because in my first season here we missed him for some big periods and when we had him, we felt the impact of him. As an individual, his impact is very clear.
"Off the back of a long-term injury, we have to manage him at the same time because when you have N'Golo fit, he's clearly one of the best midfield players in the world. I think you can see with these performances against Madrid and Liverpool last week, having just come back from injury, that he is not slowing down in that term.
"When he plays, he always offers massive output and massive quality. I'm very pleased to be working with him again."
Kante recently returned after a seven-month layoff after having surgery on his hamstring. He was rested last weekend against Wolves and started at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening in a game Chelsea ended up losing 2-0.
It's unclear whether the France international will be involved this weekend but if the game against Wolves is anything to go by, then we could see Kante on the bench for the game against Brighton with the second-leg against Real Madrid just a few days after. It could be a very different Chelsea side to the one that lost in the Spanish capital two days ago.
Lampard, when asked by football.london during his pre-match press conference if we could see a lot of changes on Satuday, said that players who didn't play in the Champions League in the week will be handed an opportunity at Stamford Bridge.
"They can't all play, the maths doesn't work," Lampard added. "Over the period I'm here, firstly I want to win football matches because we are Chelsea and that's what is expected from us, from ourselves, the fans and outside alike.
"Secondly, I want to be part of a process in this period where players have an opportunity. If they train, if they deserve to play, then they get an opportunity on the pitch and they can show that they can do.
"Tomorrow [Saturday] will be an opportunity for some players who didn't play in the Champions League, possibly didn't play at the weekend, to come in because it's a game where we absolutely need freshness and energy as well. So every opportunity, they should take."
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