Chelsea have held talks with former manager Frank Lampard as Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali consider appointing him on a short-term basis.
Lampard, who was sacked by Everton in January, was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night to watch Chelsea's 0-0 draw against Liverpool. He was not there as a fan, with the owners weighing up whether to appoint him as interim manager until the end of the season.
Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday following the 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. Having also sacked Thomas Tuchel in September, they are now looking for a third manager of the season. Potter's assistant, Bruno Saltor, took charge of the team on Tuesday night.
Lampard, 44, was Chelsea manager between July 2019 and January 2021, winning 44 of his 84 games in charge. After a year of being out of work, he was appointed as Everton boss in January 2022, but failed to last a year in charge. Indeed, owner Farhad Moshiri pulled the trigger after a miserable run of form - and ultimately brought in Sean Dyche to try and avoid relegation.
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of the top four, following their goalless draw with Liverpool. Boehly and Eghbali have spent over £550million on transfers since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last May, but the team have struggled massively, with Potter winning just 12 of his 30 games in charge.
Lampard is not the only manager under consideration. Former Barcelona and Spain boss Luis Enrique travelled to London to hold talks over the vacant position. He jetted back to Spain on Wednesday afternoon following quick-fire discussions over the role.
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But, although the 52-year-old has a strong CV, having won Spain's 2015 treble with Barcelona, Chelsea’s top brass could conclude that he relied on the class of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi up front.
The co-controlling owners of Chelsea, Boehly and Eghbali, have made clear the selection process to replace Potter will be a thorough one.
Sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley are in charge of vetting candidates and are said to be looking at upwards of five coaches. But agents have offered them several more with the Bridge post seen as one of the most prestigious in Europe.
It remains to be seen whether rookie Saltor or Lampard will take charge of the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final away to Real Madrid next Wednesday.
But Julian Nagelsmann, sacked by Bayern Munich two weeks ago, remains the leading contender. But the sought-after 35-year-old is also admired by Spurs and is said to be considering a break until the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino and Rúben Amorim while Chelsea have been offered the Fulham coach Marco Silva. Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is also in the frame, despite his relative inexperience.
