Frank Lampard to Return to Chelsea?

The rounds in the media seem to suggest a return could be on the cards for Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard, to his former club.

Maurizio Sarri doesn’t seem to be having a good time at Chelsea, with his team being on the opposite end of a 6-0 drubbing by the champions and ‘looking-like-champions’, Manchester City. The defeat would be a major dent on not only their Champions League positions, but also for Sarri’s hopes to continue as Chelsea manager this season. he has not had the impact that was expected of him, when he made the move to Chelsea from Napoli. With an ambitious owner like Roman Abramovich, Sarri should definitely be wary of his future at Chelsea.

This has opened the door for a potential return for the current Derby County manager, Frank Lampard, who has done a respectful job at the Championship club in his debut season as manager, and has guided them to the 7th position, one point away from the Championship play-offs positions. The highest scoring player in the club’s history was in “shock” after Chelsea’s worst ever Premier League defeat.

Former legends returning to manage their former clubs has been the flavour of the season, with Chelsea hoping Lampard can cause a ‘Solskjaer-istic’ change to the club, and help in reviving the club’s last third of the season. However, Lampard rejected the idea of a return, and said, “My job is here”, referring to his job at Derby County. While the return to one’s former club certainly seems very attractive, the Chelsea job would not be the one a fledgling manager would want to look at, right now, given it’s high pressure nature. But Lampard certainly has all the tools to succeed as a manager at Chelsea, but would require some more support, and one could see him making a return to the club.

Other Options

Chelsea are generally not a club who are patient with their managers, and could be on a lookout for a new manager. Interestingly, a former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, was recently made available. While the chances look slim, Mourinho could be the perfect man to take the club through the European competition. It would interesting to look at Chelsea’s next match, where Sarri must be walking the plank, which would decide his future at the club.