Chelsea are preparing to axe Maurizio Sarri regardless of whether he wins the Europa League and reportedly want to bring in Frank Lampard as his replacement.
The Italian coach has struggled to win over fans despite a solid first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, getting to the final of two Cups and finishing third in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Sky Sport Italia report that Chelsea are looking to change their manager after the Europa League final and want Lampard to usher in a new era.
The former Blues midfielder is currently plotting a way past Aston Villa in Derby County’s promotion play-off decider at Wembley next week, having enjoyed an excellent first season in management.
Chelsea bosses have been impressed with the way Lampard has carried himself and are believed to be keen to bring some of the club’s legendary former players back to Stamford Bridge – Petr Cech has already been offered a job as part of the technical staff.
Lampard has had two Chelsea loanees on his books at Derby – Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori – and, with a transfer ban potentially looming, the west London club want a manager who is prepared to bring through and develop their talented young players from the academy.
Jody Morris, who was Chelsea Under-21s manager before joining Lampard as his assistant at Derby, has previously been critical of how few youngsters have made the grade at Stamford Bridge.
Interestingly, Sky Sport Italia report that Sarri may not be out of work for very long, with the 60-year-old one of the two main names in the frame to take over at Juventus.
The Old Lady announced that Massimiliano Allegri will leave Turin at the end of the season and they are looking at both Sarri and Simone Inzaghi as potential replacements, with the Chelsea boss more than happy to return to his homeland.
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