Chelsea summer signing Ben Chilwell has revealed the advice he received from Ashley Cole following his £45million move to Stamford Bridge.
Frank Lampard signed England left-back Chilwell from Premier League rivals Leicester City in August.
The 23-year-old made his Chelsea debut in last week’s 6-0 EFL Cup win over Barnsley, and also featured in the club’s recent defeat to Tottenham.
Chilwell wants to follow in the footsteps of Premier League legend Cole, who won the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League during his spell at Chelsea.
Cole has spoken with Chilwell since he completed his move to west London and has advised him how to become a fans’ favourite at Stamford Bridge.
Chilwell said: ‘He [Cole] said, “work hard’. It sounds cliché but he said fans love players who work hard here and die for the shirt and give everything for the club.
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‘He said that he wanted to win for the club as soon as he joined and loved playing for the club, and that if I could take that on board I should have a great career here.’
The new Blues defender added: ‘Coming to Chelsea, as well as talking to Lampard, a big actor for me was speaking to Ashley and seeing his career here.
‘I want to emulate that. To have someone like that to look up to, it was important for me.
‘I was keen to meet him and get to know him and pick his brains about his career at Chelsea. I’m going to work as hard as I can to try and emulate what he did here.’
Chelsea fans will hope Chilwell can provide some solidity to a defence that struggled last season and has shipped too many goals already during the 2020-21 campaign.
Chilwell insists he and his team-mates are working hard on the training ground to improve defensively and said: ‘It’s going well.
‘The players already in and the new signings, it’s a good recipe for success for the season. We’re working really hard on the training pitch.’
Chelsea face London rivals Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, ahead of the first international break of the season.
