ANDY Townsend believes Frank Lampard will want to ‘create a bit of stardust’ around Coventry City through the club’s transfer business.
The former Aston Villa midfielder turned commentator believes Lampard could utilise his connections at old club Chelsea to bolster his squad this summer.
Townsend also thinks Lampard may target some of the Championship’s best performers while also looking at younger players who could use the Sky Blues as a platform to launch their careers.
Speaking to football betting site BetVictor, Townsend said: “There’s always the possibility that Lampard goes after some Chelsea players, isn’t there?
“He’s got great connections at Chelsea and there could always be room for that. When he was at Derby, he brought Mason Mount in and took other players there.
“He’s done that before and there’s a logic to it, there’s a lot of common sense to that. I could also see Coventry raiding the best players in the Championship, or buying those that he’s been very impressed with.
“They will of course have their scouts out there and trying to do deals elsewhere, but it’s a very competitive world.
“Frank will use his connections and use his status to try and encourage some good young players to come to Coventry, adding to what they’ve already got and fattening the squad up with some quality here and there.
“I think he’d like to bring in something that would create a bit of stardust around the team, looking for those really good young players and letting them use Coventry as a platform to really get themselves going.”
And Townsend does not believe Coventry need to rip their squad apart but must add numbers and quality to compete in the Premier League.
Townsend added: “You want to stay loyal to the boys that have got you promoted, and then you’ve got to be real and make big calls on those who you think can do it and those who you think maybe can’t quite do it.
“There’s no need to rip it all up and start telling players they’re not wanted, they don’t have to do that. But what they’re going to need is numbers.
“Coventry are going to need bigger numbers and a bit more quality. They haven’t got to go bonkers and start trying to become something that they’re not, or lose what has served them so well over this season.
“We’ve seen in recent seasons that if newly-promoted teams add wisely to what they’ve got, they can cope and survive.
“I’ve been really impressed with the job that Frank has done. Now you have to make some of those big calls where there are maybe players that you think might not quite be able to do it in the Premier League.
“You don’t have to tell them straight away, but you do need to make sure that you add to the squad, because they’re going to need to find solutions.”
