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Capello wants Lampard to stay

25 July 2008 | 09:23 - PA Sport

England coach Fabio Capello hopes Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will turn down the chance to join Inter Milan and remain in London.

 

Inter coach Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to take the England international to Italy, but Chelsea have so far not budged in their stance of rejecting all offers for the player.

And Capello believes it would be in the best interests of the English national team if Lampard stays where he is.

"As England coach I would prefer it if Lampard remained in England. He would have less travelling to do that way," he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Capello also lamented the lack of talent available to him in the Premier League, compared to the amount of Italian players his counterpart Marcello Lippi has to chose from in Serie A.

"I'm worse off than Lippi, than everyone. I have Welsh players, Scottish, Irish," he continued.

"In the Premier League only 35% of the players are English. In Italy it's about 72%."

Despite the setbacks Capello hopes to make "an impact" on the World Cup with England in 2010, and reiterated that the England job will be his last in football.

"I will complete my contract with England, but my time in the dugout will end with my England experience," he said.

"However, I would like to end my career having made an impact at a World Cup."

The former AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus coach also reiterated that 33-year-old David Beckham still has a future with the England team.

Capello said: "As long as he's at the level to play, he'll play."

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