Former Chelsea midfielder and ex-Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is in ‘advanced negotiations’ with the Blues to take over on the bench until the end of the season, English media reported on Wednesday, three days after the dismissal of Graham Potter. Lampard, emblematic player of the London club from 2001 to 2014, with whom he had been champion three times and European champion in 2012, had converted to coach in 2018.
After a season at the head of Derby County which he had almost brought up to the top flight, he had already taken charge of the Blues in 2019/2020, then banned from recruitment, managing to snatch a qualification in the Champions League for his first year, before being sacked in January 2021. He had been replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who had led the Blues to a new crown in the Champions League at the end of this season. Lampard then bounced back to Everton where he was appointed at the end of January 2022, saving them from relegation. But his 44 matches at the head of the Toffees, punctuated by 24 defeats and 8 draws for only 12 victories, had not left a great memory on the banks of the Mersey.
Failure of Graham Potter
Lampard was present at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday in the 0-0 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool which leaves the Blues in 11th place in the Premier League and 11 points from European places. According to the English press, after having already changed coach twice this season, after the failure of the Graham Potter “bet”, Chelsea would like to give themselves some time for their choice. The two main favorites would be the Spaniard Luis Enrique, who came to London to present his project to the management on Wednesday, still according to the press, and Julian Nagelsmann, recently sacked from Bayern Munich to be replaced by Tuchel, fired from Chelsea after 7 games in start of the season.