Chelsea: Coventry make Lampard ‘contingency’ as Blues ‘lay groundwork’ amid Rosenior ‘sack plan’
Coventry are ‘making contingency plans’ as they ‘increasingly fear a Chelsea approach’ for Frank Lampard as a replacement for under-fire manager Liam Rosenior. Third time’s a charm.
After winning the opening four Premier League games of his tenure, Rosenior has won just one of his last six in a period in which Chelsea were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Arsenal and suffered a humiliating defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Enzo Fernandez “crossed the line” during the international break and Rosenior threw the book at him while voicing his “disappointment” at Marc Cucurella also breaking ranks.
Relief was found in a 7-0 thumping of Port Vale to set up an FA Cup semi-final clash with Leeds, but a return to Premier League action against Manchester City on Sunday represents a grim prospect for Rosenior and a Fernandez-less Chelsea as they look to secure Champions League qualification spot.
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Football Insider revealed on Wednesday that Chelsea insiders feel Rosenior is already a ‘dead man walking’ at Stamford Bridge, and they have a ‘sack plan’ to replace him ahead of next season.
The report notes that Rosenior is ‘likely’ to leave Chelsea at the end of this season, while club chiefs have ‘laid the groundwork’ to land his replacement.
The report adds:
‘The Blues are already laying the groundwork to appoint a replacement with early feelers sent out to agents and third parties representing potential candidates.
‘Rosenior explained his decision to punish 25-year-old Enzo Fernandez last week, but there is a feeling that the feeling of discontent is spreading in the Chelsea camp.’
Last month, a report claimed a member of Chelsea’s hierarchy is ‘eyeing’ PSG boss Luis Enrique as a replacement for Rosenior, with it ‘believed’ that their current boss will be gone before next season.
But now Football Insider suggest the Blues could bring Frank Lampard back to the club for a third time with Coventry City on the brink of automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Lampard led Chelsea to fourth place and into the Champions League in the 2019/20 season but was sacked by the club in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who won the Champions League as Blues boss at the end of that season.
The legendary midfielder returned to the helm as interim boss at the end of the 2022/23 season but lost eight of his 11 games in charge.
Coventry took what many saw as quite the gamble in appointing Lampard after his struggles at Everton between those two stints at Chelsea, but the 47-year-old has led the Sky Blues on a promotion charge which sees them 12 points clear at the top of the Championship.
Needing just four more pints in their remaining five games to return to the Premier League after a 25-year absence, FI claim Coventry are ‘making contingency plans in the event that Lampard is lured back to Chelsea this summer’.
Derby County boss John Eustace is a ‘top contender’ in the eyes of the Coventry hierarchy, ‘who increasingly fear the prospect of an approach for Lampard from Chelsea’ with Rosenior ‘increasingly likely to be sacked’.
