Chelsea boss Frank Lampard set to send defender Jake Clarke-Salter on loan to Birmingham

CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard is set to send highly-rated Jake Clarke-Salter on loan to Birmingham for the season, according to reports. The young centre-back captained England’s Under-21s at this summer’s European Championships, following an impressive stint at Vitesse Arnhem. The 21-year-old made 28 Eredivisie appearances as the Dutch side finished fifth in the table and […]

CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard is set to send highly-rated Jake Clarke-Salter on loan to Birmingham for the season, according to reports.

The young centre-back captained England’s Under-21s at this summer’s European Championships, following an impressive stint at Vitesse Arnhem.

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The 21-year-old made 28 Eredivisie appearances as the Dutch side finished fifth in the table and remains highly regarded at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard is keen for Clarke-Salter to get competitive experience in England, with Birmingham leading the race, according to the Telegraph.

Swansea and Leeds have shown an interest in the Blues academy star but the Whites were fearful their offer would be snubbed as revenge for Spygate.

Clarke-Salter was one of two young defenders at Chelsea that Lampard had given his blessing to go out on loan, alongside Fikayo Tomori.

The 41-year-old already has the experienced David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma as his options at centre-back.

Tomori is expected to seal a short switch to a Premier League club after becoming Derby’s player of the year under Lampard last term.

Burnley were thought to be chasing the talented youngster as a possible replacement for in-demand James Tarkowski.

While Clarke-Slater and Tomori are set to depart, fellow loanees Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have done enough to earn a shot at the first-team.

The duo both featured in Chelsea’s 2-1 friendly against Barcelona in Japan on Tuesday, and Lampard was quick to heap praise on the young pair.

He said: “Tammy’s a goalscorer and he’s hungry for goals. Now it’s his time to prove it for Chelsea. To get his goal will put him in good stead. There’s competition.

“Mason’s had a great trip and he’s announced himself into the first-team squad.”