Frank Lampard speaks on N'Golo Kante's future at Chelsea

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has stressed that he has no plans of parting ways with N'Golo Kante this summer.

The Frenchman struggled with regular injury concerns last season and he ended the campaign with only 28 appearances across all competitions.

The Blues are currently looking at the prospect of signing Declan Rice from West Ham United and reports have claimed that could pave the way for the departure of Kante.

Inter Milan have recently failed with a player-plus-cash move for Kante, but Lampard has insisted that he does not want to lose the midfielder this summer.

"I think pretty much every club in the world would want N'Golo Kante. I saw those reports as well. He's an incredible player and I certainly don't want to lose him, no. He's fundamental to what I'm trying to do," He told.

Kante is expected to feature in the centre of the park when the Blues take on Brighton & Hove Albion on the road in their Premier League opener.

The Blues are set to hand debuts for Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, but the likes of Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva won't play.

Chilwell and Ziyech are nursing injuries at the moment while Silva has yet to feature in first-team training after going on vacation earlier this month.