Chelsea set to appoint former NYCFC player as next manager

Chelsea is looking for a new manager since they sacked Graham Potter last week and they could turn to former New York City FC player Frank Lampard. 

Frank Lampard is a legend at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League three times, the FA Cup four times and the Champions League once with the club. In total, he scored 211 goals in 648 games for Chelsea. Lampard has also already been their manager where he guided them to a top-four finish and to a FA Cup final in his first year despite being under a transfer embargo. However, the club struggled in his second season and was shown the door in January.

After leaving Chelsea as a player, Lampard joined Manchester City before seeing out his career in MLS. At NYCFC he found the back of the net eight times in 38 games.

According to David Ornstein, “Chelsea are close to appointing Frank Lampard as head coach on an interim basis until the end of this season. Proposed deal would see 44yo installed immediately, while exhaustive search for new permanent boss continues in weeks ahead.”

Would Frank Lampard be a good fit back at Chelsea?

Lampard has been out of work since being sacked by Everton earlier this year. Returning to Chelsea would be an opportunity to prove himself as a coach and also help out the club that he is most associated with.

When he was sacked by the Blues in 2021, he would not have expected a return to the club to come so soon. He is one of the club’s best-ever players and will surely be available for Chelsea whenever they need him.

Lampard did well at Derby County, helping them get to the payoff final. Then in his first season with Chelsea, he did well in his first season. This followed a spell at Everton where he kept them up in his first year in charge but struggled again in his second year. Helping Chelsea out at this stage in the season will be a short-term fix but an opportunity he must take.

The Blues will move on and appoint a manager such as Julian Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique in the summer. This should suit all parties as Lampard will have the chance to steady the ship and the new permanent coach can start fresh in the summer.

Chelsea is currently 11th in the Premier League so they will not finish in the top four this season. They are still in the Champions League but winning it will be a big ask for Lampard as he it yet to win anything in his managerial career. They also face defending last year’s winners Real Madrid in the next round.

What will it mean for Christian Pulisic?

Under Lampard at Chelsea, Pulisic has a very good record of 13 goals and 10 assists in 51 games. The U.S. men’s national team player has only one goal and one assist in 19 Premier League games this season, so he should be looking forward to working under Lampard again.

There has been a lot of speculation that Pulisic might move on from Chelsea at the end of the season. However, if he has a strong end to the campaign this year then a new manager may want him to start.