Chelsea let Bellingham go: 'The board didn't want to pay twenty million'

Lampard was a guest on the Obi One Podcast, created by former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel. In conversation with his former teammate, Lampard revealed that he had Bellingham in his sights. "During my first period at Chelsea, I wanted to bring in Bellingham at all costs, but the board didn't want to pay twenty million pounds for someone his age."

At that time, Bellingham had yet to make his debut for Birmingham City. The midfielder would break through that season at the Championship club and earn a transfer to Borussia Dortmund. In the Bundesliga, he then caught the eye of the complete European elite. Ultimately, Real Madrid secured the Englishman.

Chelsea's Spending Spree

And Chelsea? In recent years, they have splurged far higher sums than the former asking price for Bellingham. The Blues have spent more than a billion euros on new players over the last two seasons. That has not yet yielded success, as Chelsea did not qualify for European football last season. With a recent victory over Tottenham Hotspur, the club is currently in tenth place in the Premier League.