What Will be Frank Lampard's Next Move?

Today Chelsea have officially announced the sacking of club legend Frank Lampard, following a poor run of form which has seen the Stamford Bridge club win just two of their last eight matches in the Premier League, which has resulted in the Blues being sat in ninth place, five points off Liverpool in fourth place.

Having spent around £240m in the summer, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich would’ve expected his side to be closer to the likes of Leicester City and Manchester United, as they finished above the Foxes last season who are currently third, whilst the Red Devils who they finished on the same points as last campaign when they finished fourth are 11 points ahead in the league.

Lampard will have to re-build his career at another club, where that will be? Only time will tell, however, he will still be held in high regard due to the job he did in his time at Derby County, where he got to the Championship play-off final in 2019, only to be beaten by a strong Aston Villa side which contained the core of their current Premier League starting 11, including Jack Grealish, Tyrone Mings and John McGinn.

Last season, Chelsea also played some good football but lacked a solid defence, as they went on to finish in fourth place on 66 points. Lampard was hampered by the fact that the club had a transfer embargo as he couldn’t get any new signings in to replace the creativity they lacked following Eden Hazard’s departure to Real Madrid, as well as being unable to sign new defenders, as the Blues leaked 54 goals last season.

The former Chelsea manager did a good job of implementing youngsters into his side due to the transfer ban, which saw the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham all flourish in his first season. Bringing through young academy prospects isn’t something which Chelsea have been renowned for since Abramovich’s take over of the club in 2003, but Lampard did change this and perhaps didn’t give Abraham and Tomori enough chances to develop in his final six months. This could be down to the transfer ban being lifted, which saw the Blues sign seven players, of which Lampard struggled to implement and find the right balance to fit the majority of the signings into his squad which included the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.

The 42-year-old has certainly got a chance of becoming a Premier League manager again in the near future, although it may be a case of him having to earn his chance in the Championship again if no Premier League side comes in for the former Chelsea man. His work in his first two full managerial seasons can’t be overlooked.

There aren’t many vacancies that Lampard could take, although there are a few managers that are seemingly under pressure at their clubs. The biggest two jobs that look set to be available sometime soon are at Celtic, with Neil Lennon under increased pressure, as his side are 23 points behind Steven Gerrard’s Rangers. Whilst Steve Bruce is also under pressure at Newcastle United, having seen them win just one of their last 11 games in all competitions, which has left the Magpies seven points above the drop zone.

Lampard would suit the job at Celtic Park, as it would offer him a good chance to enhance his reputation and get some trophies under his belt, as Celtic under the right manager have the squad to go toe to toe with Rangers, and with Lampard’s attacking style of play that he showed at Derby and in his first season at Chelsea, he could be a hit with the Celtic faithful. Similarly, his style of football would be a much more welcomed approach tactically at St James’ Park, as the fans of the Toon Army have shown their discontent in Bruce’s style, as well as recent results.

Brighton & Hove Albion are another club that could potentially look at Lampard as the Seagulls are a club that like to play attractive football, but have struggled for results, as they have won just three of their 19 Premier League games under Graham Potter this season, and sit just five points above Fulham, who have a game in hand on them.

A move to the Championship could be on the cards for Lampard, however, there are no major vacancies at present, as Watford have recently appointed Xisco Munoz, whilst both Bournemouth and Norwich City are running well in the league.

A return to Stamford Bridge in the future would be a fairytale for Lampard at present, as no doubt this was his dream job prior to getting it in the summer of 2019. However, there have been other Chelsea managers who have taken the role twice such as Guus Hiddink as an interim manager on both occasions, and Jose Mourinho between 2013 and 2015, having being sacked by the club back in 2007.

Lampard does come across as having an ambitious and determined attitude, so mentally there will always be part of him that would love to go back to the club that he loves. He must take inspiration from some of the managers at the top of the Premier League such as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp, who have both suffered major setbacks in their careers, as they have both been relegated from top-flight divisions with Cardiff City and Mainz, whilst the latter who has even won the Champions League with Liverpool since also failed to earn Mainz promotion back to the Bundesliga following their relegation.

Ultimately you can never say never in football, especially with the history that Chelsea have of sacking and re-appointing managers, so there is every chance of which Lampard could end up back at Chelsea, as he is still relatively inexperienced as a manager, having only completed two full seasons, so there is still plenty of chance to improve by gaining experience.

In my opinion, I believe that Lampard will bide his time before jumping straight back into management, and will either go to the likes of Swansea, where he once spent part of the 1995/96 season on loan if Steve Cooper is to be snapped up by a Premier League side, although it is likely that the Swans manager could stay till at least the end of the season.

The other move which could be of Lampard’s interest is a move to the Amex if Brighton were to sack Potter, following their abysmal run of form this season under the former Östersunds FK manager. Lampard’s style of football and the opportunity to develop youngsters such as Tariq Lamptey, Ben White and Alexis Mac Allister would give the former Chelsea manager a good platform of which he could rebuild his career on.