Fiorentina boss Montella: I'd love to work with Lampard

12 Jan 2013 17:55:00

The Viola have been linked with a move for the Chelsea midfielder and the Italian trainer would be delighted to capture the English star as he would be "useful"

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella has revealed he would "love" to bring Frank Lampard to the club.

The Viola currently sit fourth in Serie A and with Lampard's contract due to run out in the summer, speculation is rife as to where the 34-year-old may end up.

Montella hopes his destination is Florence, as he sees him as a useful addition to the squad.

“I’d love to work with Lampard. The fact that he likes Fiorentina is something to be proud of. He is a professional and in good shape. If he accepted the bench every now and again, he’d be useful to us..."

Meanwhile, the Viola have also been linked with striker Antonio Di Natale, with Montella's charges are set to face Udinese this weekend. However, the Italian trainer feels it is unlikely that the Zebrette forward will leave his current club.

He added: “As for Di Natale, we’ve been friends for a long time and I realise he’d like to work with me, but he doesn’t feel he should leave Udine. I understand his position and really he’s right, especially as it’s not certain he’d play all the time in Florence.

“Udinese are a great team with talented players in fine form right now. Perhaps we didn’t deserve to beat them last time out, so they’ll be angrier tomorrow.”

Fiorentina suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against Pescara last weekend, but Montella insists his side are raring to go against Udinese, and says there is still a long way to go in the league before anything is decided.

He continued: "I already had a response during training, so I know the team is alive and kicking without suffering any psychological blowback.

“It was a new experience for me, as I’d never lost a game like that before. Nobody thought Pescara could score. When you can’t break through in the second half, it is important not to get too unbalanced. We must remain clear-headed.

“This Serie A tournament remains wide open. A team can easily arrive second or seventh. Would I prefer to get a Champions League place or win the Coppa Italia? Why choose when you can have both...”