Chelsea considers choosing Lampard as interim coach
Two Chelsea sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have been tasked with finding a new manager and have drawn up a list of seven candidates. In particular, Lampard is not considered a "long-term option". According to The Times, after firing Graham Potter, the Stamford Bridge owner identified Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann as the two strongest candidates. However, it is possible that Chelsea cannot quickly approve the deal.
Chelsea's priority is to have a new coach before the trip to the defending champion Real in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 12. In the event that Enrique or Nagelsmann is not ready to take over, Lampard is likely to hold the interim role until the end of the season.
According to news expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are in detailed negotiations with Lampard, and the former midfielder who played for the club from 2001-2014 is also excited, ready to return as an interim coach. The contract will be signed after the approval of the American owners of Chelsea.
Lampard is a living legend and used to lead Chelsea in the period 2019–2021. However, the English coach did not achieve success and lost his job after winning 44, drawing 17 and losing 23 out of 84 matches with Chelsea. In January 2023, he was again sacked by Everton when he won only 12 out of 44 matches, reaching a rate of 27.2%.
On April 4, Lampard attended Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge - Chelsea's first match under interim coach Bruno Saltor. The Times said that Lampard is suitable to lead Chelsea until the end of the season, when he has a greater influence in the dressing room and also has more experience than Saltor.
On April 5, Luis Enrique was present in London to negotiate with Chelsea. Here, the Spanish coach is expected to present in detail his plan to build a style of play that controls the ball and prioritizes the use of young players. Before that, the Chelsea board was impressed with Enrique's vision through the first conversations, according to Independent.
Chelsea, under the former owner Roman Abramovich, also approached Enrique after sacking Antonio Conte in 2018. However, the English team withdrew at that time because the Spanish coach demanded a salary of 23 million USD.
Nagelsmann is also ready to take on the challenge at Stamford Bridge. But according to Sportmail, the German coach wants to clarify the club's development plans as well as the level of control at Chelsea and this could delay the negotiation process. In addition, Bayern still set the condition that any club that wants to recruit Nagelsmann before the summer of 2023 must negotiate with them, despite having fired the 35-year-old coach. Moreover, Chelsea and Bayern are both still competing in the Champions League and could face off in the semi-finals. Chelsea will face defending champions Real, while Bayern will face Man City in the quarter-finals. Therefore, Bayern do not want Nagelsmann to come to Chelsea and reveal all the secrets of how the club operates.
According to Sky Sports, Mauricio Pochettino, Ruben Amorim, Oliver Glasner and Luciano Spalletti are among the other coaches being discussed internally at Chelsea. Incumbent Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is not on this list.
