Frank Lampard Wanted Tammy Abraham to Have 'Pressure' of Chelsea No. 9 Shirt

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has discussed his decision to hand Tammy Abraham the No. 9 shirt in the summer.

Blues strikers to wear the number have struggled in recent years, which Lampard acknowledged:

However, he felt it would do Abraham some good, per Goal's Nizaar Kinsella: "If you're signing a 25-year-old who has scored multiple goals in a different league or in the Premier League, you might see it differently, and it would be a really easy decision, but the question with a young boy is does he need that pressure? My opinion was yes."

Lampard said, "it was my decision to give it to him purely on his personality in pre-season."

"He thought, 'I want to be Chelsea's mainline striker,' and the No. 9 is generally that, so I thought it was an opportunity for him to rise to that hopefully," he added.

The coach is also hoping Abraham can kick on and become an England regular after he was called up by Gareth Southgate for the October and November international breaks:

Abraham spent last season on loan at Aston Villa in the Championship, where he scored 26 goals in 41 appearances.

He returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer, and Lampard opted to make him his first-choice centre-forward, which came with the No. 9 shirt.

Chelsea players to don that number haven't had much luck of late despite them often being prolific elsewhere.

The Blues spent £50 million on Fernando Torres in 2011. The Spaniard helped the club win the UEFA Champions League the following season, but his record of 45 goals in 172 games was a disappointment given the expenditure on him and the fact he had bagged 81 in 142 at Liverpool.

Radamel Falcao scored just once in 12 appearances for Chelsea during a loan spell in 2015-16.

Alvaro Morata cost Chelsea £60 million in 2017, but he scored 24 times in 72 games before being loaned to Atletico Madrid in January last year.

Gonzalo Higuain replaced him on loan for the remainder of last season, but his record of five goals in 18 games didn't make the grade, either.

Abraham has fared well so far in this campaign with 14 goals and five assists in 28 appearances.

The Athletic's Liam Twomey has seen plenty of improvement from him over the course of the season:

It could be a slight concern at Chelsea that he has scored just twice in his last eight Premier League matches, but it's important to remember he only turned 22 in October and this is only his second season as a regular in the top flight.

Abraham will likely have plenty of chances to get on the scoresheet again in Chelsea's upcoming games, though, as they face Burnley and Newcastle United.

Only Aston Villa and Southampton have conceded more than the former's 34 goals this season, while the latter have shipped 33, and both are on a three-match losing streak in the league.