Mario Melchiot tells Frank Lampard to build Chelsea team around surprise player

Mario Melchiot has told Frank Lampard he should build his team around Antonio Rudiger. However, he says Chelsea are yet to find his perfect centre-back partner. Rudiger has played alongside the likes of Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori and Lampard has even deployed the German in a back three. Melchiot urged Lampard to focus on Rudiger and find a centre-back completely different to him. "Rudiger has the experience and has played at a great international level,’ Melchiot said. "He has a good standing at Chelsea and I like him as a player. He’s doing really well. He is very strong and came back well from his injury when others had a chance to take his place. "The next step now is to build a side around him but it’s important to find a centre-back partner who is not like him. They can’t play the same way. They have to find someone who has the ability to defend but doesn’t defend like him. The two guys in the middle of the park should never be identical. Both should be strong sure but maybe a guy who is on a different scale technically whereas Rudiger is a guy who says “don’t mess around with me”. Source: Metro