BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea looks on prior to the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea FC at American Express Community Stadium on January 01, 2020 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Chelsea were in pole position to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha, but Frank Lampard has decided against this move for an interesting reason.

Chelsea were frequently linked with Crystal Palace midfielder Wilfried Zaha in the weeks leading up to the January transfer window, but it looks like the Blues have made a U-turn. According to a new report from Express, Frank Lampard has made the bold decision of not pursuing Zaha and the reason behind this decision is quite interesting.

The report claims that Zaha’s financial demands would create tension in the locker room. The Ivory Coast international, who is currently on a weekly salary of £130,000, wants to earn £200,000 a week at a new club. Chelsea have sufficient funds to meet Zaha’s demands, but Lampard does not want a significant disparity in weekly wages to spark internal instability.

With a weekly wage of £200,000, Zaha would be the highest paid player in the squad by a wide margin. At the moment, the three highest earners at Chelsea are Kepa Arrizabalaga (£150,000), N’Golo Kante (£150,000) and Christian Pulisic (£145,000). Moreover, Lampard and the club are focused on their negotiations with youngsters Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Reece James.

The last thing Lampard needs is a big money distraction walking through the door and complicating those deals, especially when both Abraham and Mount have outperformed Zaha this season. The Crystal Palace star has three goals and two assists to his name through 21 games this season, but Abraham has scored twelve goals and completed three assists, and Mount has found the back of the net on five occasions and has two assists.

There is no doubt that Zaha is a talented player his impact at Crystal Palace is noted in the team’s terrible record without him on the pitch. Arsenal and Everton expressed serious interest in Zaha last summer and even put some major bids on the table, but Crystal Palace rejected their offers as they valued their main man at around £70m.

Multiple top teams were after Zaha, and some are still interested in securing his services, so the fact that Lampard is no longer interested in pursuing this deal shows some bold character. Chelsea’s young squad would certainly benefit from the arrival of a talented player who has years of Premier League experience under his belt, but the Blues do not really need Zaha as they are stacked in the middle of the park and out wide. Lampard might be criticized by some for passing up this opportunity to sign a dynamic attacking player such as Zaha, but he is making the right call here.