It was a nice story last summer. Rickie Lambert works his way up the leagues, finds his feet in the Premier League with Southampton and then makes the move to his boyhood heroes in the twilight of his career. There wasn't too many people who were dying to see Lambert fail.
But, come the end of the season, it's fair to say that things could have gone better. Lambert came in as third choice striker but with Daniel Sturridge injured and Mario Balotelli woeful, Brendan Rodgers still didn't seem ready to trust Lambert to lead the line and he has managed just two goals in 22 Premier League appearances.
Which makes it rather surprising to hear that Rickie Lambert is heading to Chelsea. 'Will you get away out of that'. Yes, that's the first thought that came to our mind as well but The Mirror are genuinely reporting that Chelsea had scouts at Anfield on Saturday to watch the 33 year old in action against QPR.
We thought Jordan Henderson to Barcelona was the most surprising rumour we'd hear this year but it appears not. Although having said that, perhaps it's not completely off the wall. Didier Drogba is out of contract and looks set to leave baring a last minute change of heart and Lambert looks certain to leave Liverpool after a less than stellar season.
It would be a bit like when Chelsea brought in Claudio Pizarro a few years ago. However, if they do bring in Lambert then you might as well just write off any future for a Chelsea youngster. Patrick Bamford has just had the best season he could possibly have in the Championship.
He's heading back to Chelsea expecting to be third choice behind Costa and Remy at the very least. With Mourinho's one up top system, either Lambert is coming in to be fourth choice or Chelsea really don't care about giving youth a chance.
