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Football London
Football London
Sport
Jake Stokes

Chelsea have already held dress rehearsal for their latest crisis as Roman Abramovich sanctioned

Frank Lampard has already directed a dress rehearsal that can steady the ship at Chelsea amid an impending crisis following the UK Government's decision to shortlist Roman Abramovich.

The 55-year-old has been been added to the UK government's sanction list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with all of his assets - including Chelsea Football Club - frozen with immediate effect.

Chelsea will be allowed to continue functioning with restrictions under a sporting licence that expires at the end of May but its sale has been blocked and Abramovich will no longer be permitted to invest.

The closest that the Blues, as a club, have come to experiencing a period of financial uncertainty was just over two years ago when FIFA administered a transfer ban.

Lampard guided the west London side through the ban with excellent effect and handed eight academy debuts in his first season, a club record in the Premier League era.

Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James were quickly thrown into the deep despite having little to no prior experience in the top flight.

The quartet soon grew into integral piece of Chelsea's puzzle during a time where the Blues were still licking their wounds following the departure of Eden Hazard.

Lampard also gave debuts to Marc Guehi, Billy Gilmour, Armando Broja and Ian Maatsen; the latter three of which could prove pivotal for Thomas Tuchel next season amid the brewing club crisis.

However, the club's all-time top goalscorer didn't just pave a recognised path between the first-team and the academy, Lampard steered a side, who had just lost their almighty focal point, to a Champions League place.

The roots of the Everton boss' work are embedded in Chelsea's European glory with Tuchel and the German boss can learn a lot from his predecessor ahead of such scary times.

Lampard did, and will, always have his critics but he'll also have his cheerleaders; what the former Chelsea captain did for the club in during 18-month window has helped the club more than what he's given credit for.

Follow our Carefree Chelsea writer Jake Stokes on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below. Make sure you have subscribed to CareFree Chelsea on YouTube! The Fan Brands team, along with plenty of your football.london favourites, will be producing daily Chelsea content for you to enjoy, including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews.

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