Ranking contenders as Chelsea eye Lampard replacement

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is reportedly on thin ice at Chelsea after a run of five defeats in their last eight games in the Premier League.

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Before and after Chelsea’s hugely disappointing defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday, Lampard was asked continuously about his future as Chelsea boss.

Although the Chelsea legend admitted he is ‘worried’ about the situation, he believes he can turn things around. Does Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich agree with him?

After a summer of heaving spending ($300 million, roughly) on new players, Lampard knows expectation levels have soared at Stamford Bridge and a top four finish was the absolute minimum requirement this season. As things stand they are dropping away from the top four race.

A report from The Athletic suggest that if Chelsea do intend to make a move and replace Lampard, they want to bring in a German-speaking coach who has had success in the Bundesliga. With German stars Timo Werner and Kai Havertz struggling to settle in after their big-money moves, it is believed that Chelsea are eyeing a coach who could make them feel at home and set up the team to play to their strengths.

Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralph Hasenhuttl are said to be the German-speaking managers that Chelsea want to bring in but other candidates include Max Allegri and Brendan Rodgers. The latter stands out but would not come cheap as Leicester City included a release clause in his contract and Rodgers has the Foxes top of the Premier League table and is building something special.

Former Juventus and AC Milan coach Max Allegri has been taking English lessons for some time and wants to manage in the Premier League, but it is believed he only wants to arrive in the summer when he can work with a team throughout preseason.

Maybe Abramovich can give his mate Guus Hiddink a call for another interim spell in charge of the Blues until the summer if they do fire Lampard in the coming days? Andriy Shevchenko has also been mentioned as a left-field candidate due to the fine job he’s been doing with Ukraine and his connection to Chelsea.

With all of that in mind, here’s a ranking of the leading candidates to become the next Chelsea manager.

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1. Brendan Rodgers

Would do a great job, especially with the young players, and he’d see it as unfinished business after his time as a youth coach at Chelsea. Would he leave Leicester in the summer if they reached the Champions League? Probably not.

2. Max Allegri

Ready and waiting for a job and you can’t argue with his success in Italy. Allegri never won the Champions League but his teams are always disciplined but keep attacking intent. Would be a very similar hire to Antonio Conte.

3. Ralph Hasenhuttl

What he has achieved at Southampton on a very small budget has been outstanding and although he recently committed his long-term future to Saints, you could see him moving to Chelsea. He worked with Timo Werner at RB Leipzig and his high-pressing style is entertaining.

4. Julian Nagelsmann

Only joined Leipzig 18 months ago, so would be a bit of a strange one. Nagelsmann, 33, is the brightest young manager in the game but this move feels a little early for him. He would likely make a success of it, though, and he’s already said he fancies a move to England in the future.

5. Thomas Tuchel

Like Allegri, he’s available, and his teams also play with plenty of defensive structure but retain creativity in attack. Chelsea badly need the former as they keep making basic defensive errors and positioning is a problem. Tuchel wouldn’t be a sexy hire, but if Lampard was to be fired soon he may be Chelsea’s best short-term option.

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