The relationship between Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea didn’t last long and once again a manager departed within a year from Stamford Bridge. Frank Lampard has now taken guard after Sarri’s departure.
As a player, Lampard enjoyed a highly successful career but this is a different challenge entirely. Chelsea probably won’t be title challengers this season but you can safely wager through pointsbet sportsbook that they will finish in the Top 4.
Eden Hazard
Losing Eden Hazard to Real Madrid this summer was a big blow for Chelsea. His departure has now left a big creative void in the team. They will find it very difficult to fill that gap, particularly now when the club is serving a transfer ban.
The Belgian arrived from Lille in 2012 and had since been giving very good performances. He played a big hand in all the trophies Chelsea won during his time at Stamford Bridge. Just last season, he netted an incredible 21 goals in all competitions which also included two strikes in the Europa League final against Arsenal.
Lampard has now a big task on his hand to make do without the Belgian’s brilliance. With the new transfer ban on Chelsea, he will be starting his new job with a great disadvantage. He won’t be able to bring in new reinforcements to bolster his current squad which needs improvements in many areas.
Frank Lampard
This means that he will now have to focus more on his academy players and try to integrate them into the first team. His previous season at Derby proved that he is willing to grant opportunities to his young players. The likes of Harry Wilson, Mason Mount, and Fikayo Tomori all got the first-team experience during his time at Derby. The academy players of Chelsea have been very talented but their integration into the first team has been poor at the club. Therefore, the English manager has to get the best out of the players at this disposal now.
Another big issue for Lampard will be the playing positions of Kante and Jorginho. Removing Kante from his defensive position proved to be the bone of contention between Maurizio Sarri and many Chelsea fans last season. That holding role belonged to a player like Jorginho in Sarri’s style of play. So he gave Kante a completely different role.
Now that the Italian has departed, many expect Lampard to restore Kante’s defensive position who was forced to play into an unfamiliar advanced position. However, this decision would be very troublesome to Jorginho who isn’t suited to play in any other midfield positions. Solving these problems could go a long way in Chelsea’s bid to secure Champions League football again.