Chelsea are considering a wide range of world-class manager options as their heir to Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge, yet few would have expected Frank Lampard's name to be in the running to take over.
Could Chelsea re-hire Frank Lampard?
Contenders for the job, Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, might be keen on waiting until the end of the campaign to start their potential tenures at Stamford Bridge, considering the mess that the Blues currently find themselves in ahead of two games against European champions Real Madrid this month.
As a result, according to talkSPORT, Lampard "is a shock contender to return to CFC if they decide to appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season."
Since that news, The Athletic's David Ornstein suggested this evening that Chelsea are in fact "close to appointing" their former boss.
Tuesday's stalemate against Liverpool, where the 44-year-old was in attendance, meant that Chelsea have now managed just 29 goals in 29 Premier League games this season, so it is no surprise that they occupy a bottom-half spot in the top flight.
By comparison, Lampard's previous spell at Chelsea was fantastic, especially when you consider that the money that has been spent under Boehly simply wasn't available under the former England international. A lack of funds, and of course, a transfer embargo led to young talents such as Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham establishing themselves as regular first-team players.
He led Chelsea to a fourth-place finish in the 2019/20 campaign but struggled the following year, and was sacked with the Blues in ninth position.
A move to Everton would follow and he kept the Toffees up by the skin of their teeth last season but looked to be leading the Merseyside outfit towards relegation this year as they sat in 19th position before he was sacked and replaced by Sean Dyche.
Journalist Ronan Murphy labelled the Chelsea legend a "terrible" manager in September 2022 and it certainly feels like his playing career influenced the Blues' decision to bring him in after one season at Derby County.
To repeat that mistake would be unforgivable by Boehly, especially when you consider how dreadful Everton were under his management, as they had managed the fewest number of wins in the Premier League before his sacking, as he earned an average of just one point per game in his spell at Goodison Park.
One of Chelsea's biggest issues this season has been getting the enormous dressing room on the side the manager and Boehly need only to look at Manchester United's experience with caretaker manager Ralf Rangnick to understand that this would be a terrible decision.
Lampard is still regarded as a Chelsea legend by many but for him to return to the club and potentially see them drop even further in the league would surely be a mistake for everyone involved.
