Tariq Lamptey was born to Ghanaian parents in England
Tariq Lamptey is eligible to play for the Black Stars
He was the third choice right-back at Chelsea
He is now on the radar of Manchester United
English-born Ghanaian defender, Tariq Lamptey has lifted the lid on why he left his boyhood club Chelsea in the 2020 January winter transfer window despite making his senior debut a month before.
Tariq Lamptey played three times for Chelsea in the 2019/ 2020 English Premier League season after making his debut as a second-half substitute at the Emirates when the Blues beat Arsenal 2-1 in December 2019.
The youngster left Chelsea to join Brighton and Hove Albion for a reported fee of £3.3M and has since established himself as one of the best right-backs in the league.
But speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, Tariq said he left Chelsea because he wanted regular playing time to enhance his career.
“I was privileged to be in a good place where they [Chelsea] allowed me to develop and I’m grateful to them.”
“But I feel it was time to try and get regular game time and just try and take my game to the next level and keep developing. In Brighton, there was a fantastic club that have a good plan and I saw it as a chance to take.
“When I was at Chelsea, Reece James was in the age group older than me. He was always giving me good advice. I’m happy to see him doing well and hopefully, that continues. There was a good academy at Chelsea and they give you the tools you need to try and develop your game.
“It just so happens that they have a lot of players in that position but they’ve got boys all around that can take it to the next level.”