AC Milan have opened talks for Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard. The Mail on Sunday says the Serie A club have already opened talks with representatives of Lampard, who will be offered a one-year 'take it or leave it' deal by Chelsea when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Milan will stress to Lampard how they have respected and prolonged the careers of older players, such as Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini, who both played at the club well into their 40s.

Milan were the first major team to use cutting-edge sports science to enable their players to continue into their late 30s, an approach now copied by Manchester United but rejected at Chelsea, where players over the age of 32 are only usually offered one-year deals.