Chelsea legend warns ‘immature’ star he’s ‘dramatically damaging’ his career under Lampard

admin 8 September 2024, 07:14 yayınlandı

Frank Lebouef labelled Wesley Fofana “immature” after the Chelsea star’s display against Manchester United and warned the centre-back that he’s “dramatically damaging his career”.

Signed for £72m in the summer, Fofana missed a big chunk of his debut season at Stamford Bridge, but has started 11 of Chelsea’s last 14 games in the Premier League.

But, along with the rest of the Blues’ summer signings, Fofana has failed to live up to expectations, and has another poor evening on Thursday.

Lebouef was particularly critical of Fofana’s challenge on Bruno Fernandes to concede a penalty in , insisting his reaction was “naive”.

Asked whether Fofana has what it takes to become a world class centre-half, Lebouef told ESPN: “I still want to believe that I’m not wrong and he will rectify the trajectory in his career.

“He has everything he needs to be one of the best centre backs but he needs to grow.

“He’s now in a big club and he needs to grow very quickly making sure his choices are not putting his team in danger.

“His frustration today when he was nutmegged by Bruno Fernandes, his reaction was very naive. It was immature and he has to react better.

“Hopefully everything is going to be erased and banished very soon. If he carries on like that he can damage dramatically his career that’s for sure.”

Asked about the poor defensive display from his side after the game, Lampard said: “We were the better football team in the first half – in possession, chances we matched them at least.

“To be 2-0 down is probably a sign of where we’re at. Second half, probably a sign of where we’re at.

“Our goal count for the season shows it’s a problem we don’t score goals enough. We gave them some threats in the first half but not many in the first half. Some of the defending in the second half showed why we play a back five at times.”