Frank Lampard is set to be sacked by Chelsea less than 24 hours after the club's FA Cup victory over Luton Town, with Thomas Tuchel primed to replace him.
Confirmation is expected to come today after Chelsea’s players were told not to report to the training ground until this afternoon.
A text went around the entire first-team squad on Monday morning to inform them that training was delayed, as Chelsea prepared a statement.
Lampard is 18 months into his three-year contract as Chelsea head coach and he had hoped that the win over Luton would give him more time, following a poor run of Premier League form.
But Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has decided to act in a bid to save Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
The players will find out this afternoon who will take over and it is currently unclear whether or not Chelsea will make an interim or long-term appointment.
Former Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel is available and is known to be keen on the post, while Rafa Benitez, who has taken charge in an interim capacity at Chelsea before, and ex-Juventus manager Max Allegri are also out of work.
German sources claim talks between Chelsea and Tuchel for him to replace Lampard are at an advanced stage, but the Blues have not commented on the situation.
Chelsea have previously denied reports that they were lining up Avram Grant to return to the club.
Lampard’s departure could split opinion among Chelsea fans, particularly those who still idolise him from the former midfielder’s playing days, when he became the club’s all-time record goalscorer.
Speaking before the Luton Town game Lampard said "I’m a fighter first and foremost. It’s how I managed to make a career out of the game as a player. When I packed up, I could have easily stayed in the media or come out of football altogether.
"I didn’t need to get back in. I got back in with a desire to be successful. I didn’t have blinkers on. I knew that there will be tough times and things that you can’t control like you did as a player."
0 comments:
Post a Comment