Having slumped to a comprehensive 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, Chelsea are now eighth in the Premier League with one win from their last six outings.
Despite spending well over £200m in the transfer market last summer and bringing in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz and Edouard Mendy, the Blues are three points worse off than they were at this stage last season and 11 points worse off than they were in their single season under Maurizio Sarri.
In fact, during the Roman Abramovich era, only Jose Mourinho’s calamitous final season at the club has yielded fewer points after 17 games. Needless to say, it’s not been a great return on their investment so far.
That has led to increasing pressure on Frank Lampard, despite his attempts to dampen expectations in recent weeks. Chelsea were widely tipped for a title challenge, but they are currently seven points behind Liverpool at the summit having played one game more than their rivals.
Now Lampard’s position is under serious threat and the Chelsea hierarchy have begun to consider alternative options, according to The Athletic.
While the situation is far from irretrievable – it’s also possible that Lampard could carry on if results improve – there needs to be a swift turnaround. He has more goodwill than most, but Abramovich is not exactly renowned for his patience with struggling managers.
Were Chelsea to sack Lampard, there would be a limited number of candidates who could replace him midway through the season.
So what are Chelsea’s options? Here are five managers who might be convinced to take on the job.
Who could replace Lampard?
While the last manager they nabbed from Serie A was a mixed success, Massimiliano Allegri has been out of work since leaving Juventus in 2019.
Having won five straight titles with the Bianconeri, he has an excellent track record. He has also flirted with the idea of moving to the Premier League before.
Sacked by Paris Saint-Germain a couple of weeks ago, Thomas Tuchel is also available. While his sides have often been highly mercurial, he guided PSG to the Champions League final last term – losing narrowly to Bayern Munich – and hoovered up France’s domestic silverware.
Another former Borussia Dortmund boss, Lucien Favre would be a left-field appointment. Relieved of his duties at the Westfalenstadion last month after a disappointing start to the season, Favre has a good track record of working with talented youngsters – including Christian Pulisic – and knows Timo Werner and Kai Havertz well from the Bundesliga.
Julian Nagelsmann has become a dream coach for Europe’s top clubs, but his contract with RB Leipzig runs until 2023. Leipzig are only two points behind Bayern at the top of the table and he is at the heart of an ambitious corporate project.
Given that it’s Chelsea, there will inevitably be rumours of John Terry taking charge at some stage. While two years working as Dean Smith’s assistant manager at Aston Villa hardly gives him the requisite experience, Lampard was appointed on the back of one season at Derby and his club legend status so maybe it’s not as far-fetched as it seems.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3o7K2DQ
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