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Frank Lampard hails "gentleman" Didier Drogba

Lampard hails
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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard praises Didier Drogba's contribution to the club.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has hailed outgoing Blues striker Didier Drogba as a "great, great player".

Drogba, 34, announced his intention to leave the club on Tuesday, and Lampard believes that the Ivorian will be remembered as one of the best.

"He will leave a massive hole at the club, but I'm not disappointed he's chosen to leave. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I love him and he deserves to go out on a massive finish, like he has done," he told talkSPORT.

"It's been a massive pleasure to play with him and I hope he makes the right choice. I'm sure he will. He's a gentleman as a fella and a great, great player. People talk about Henry, Rooney, Bergkamp and all the greats and I didn't see Didier get too many mentions for the best Premier League team of the last 20 years.

"Maybe people like to make a fuss about the other side of things, but he's the best striker I've played with. His all-round game is immense and he should be right up there with the Henrys and whoever."

Drogba is expected to join Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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