Tuchel, Allegri, Rodgers and Hasenhuttl are contenders to replace Lampard

Chelsea have reportedly identified Thomas Tuchel, Massimiliano Allegri, Brendan Rodgers and Ralph Hasenhuttl as contenders to replace Frank Lampard as manager – but the club will give him time to turn things around.

Lampard’s future at the club has been plunged into doubt after just one win in their previous six Premier League matches, and following a summer of enormous investment in the playing squad.

The run was extended on Sunday when Manchester City breezed past the Blues in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge, a defeat that has seen Lampard’s side slip to ninth in the Premier League.

Chelsea have reportedly put together a shortlist of managers to replace Frank Lampard

Chelsea have reportedly put together a shortlist of managers to replace Frank Lampard

Thomas Tuchel was sacked by PSG last month with Mauricio Pochettino replacing him

Max Allegri has been out of work since leaving Juventus in the summer of 2019

Thomas Tuchel (left) and Max Allegri (right) are options to replace Lampard at Stamford Bridge

Owner Roman Abramovich has a reputation for not hesitating over the future of his managers but, as Sportsmail reported on Monday night, Lampard will be given time to turn things around.

However, the club have already compiled a shortlist of potential replacements if Lampard is unsuccessful in turning his side’s fortunes around.

According to The Independent, they include former Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel and ex-Juventus manager Allegri.

Tuchel was sacked by PSG last month after a poor start to the season by their standards. He also joined the long list of managers who have been unable to bring Champions League success to the French capital.

Allegri, meanwhile, has been out of work since he left Juventus in the summer of 2019. He has been linked with several high-profile jobs in England and his native Italy and has the pedigree of five Serie A titles in a row. 

The other two candidates are both performing well in the Premier League at present.

Brendan Rodgers has transformed Leicester into Champions League contenders

Ralph Hasenhuttl's fine work at Southampton continued with a 1-0 win over Liverpool on Monday night

Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers (left) and Ralph Hasenhuttl (right) are also being considered

Rodgers, who worked as a youth coach at Chelsea during the early stages of his coaching career, has turned Leicester into a Premier League force in recent seasons.

He guided them to a Europa League finish last season and is once again in the race for a top-four finish this time around with the Foxes just one point off table-toppers Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Hasenhuttl guided Southampton to a 1-0 win over champions Liverpool on Monday night to take them to within four points of Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The Austrian has completely turned around the Saints’ fortunes in the last 12 months and would be a target for a number of high-profile clubs both in England and abroad.

Lampard is expected to be given time by the Chelsea hierarchy to turn things around though

Lampard is expected to be given time by the Chelsea hierarchy to turn things around though

Despite Chelsea’s recent troubles, the club’s hierarchy are prepared to give the club legend an opportunity to put the team back on track.

There is an acknowledgement of Lampard’s work in leading Chelsea to an excellent start to the season that saw them go 17 games unbeaten, plus the fact that the team breezed through their Champions League group.

He also has plenty of credit in the bank for his work last season where he led the team to an FA Cup final and top-four finish, despite a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.

They are also still just within striking distance of the Champions League positions and the club are wary of making a managerial change during the campaign.

But the board want to see an improvement in results between now and the end of the season, particularly after splashing out on the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell over the summer. In total they spent an eye-watering £253million.

Leave a Reply