It is always going to be a bigger responsibility taking over as the manager at an elite football club. Being a legend of this club makes the fans love to want to give one of their own a chance. A lot of teams have tried this, and works well for some well known teams.
Being a novice in this field, was never a subject of discussion among Chelsea faithfuls, when the club appointed her legend Frank Lampard as the manager at the end of 2018-19 season, when Maurizio Sarri was dismissed from his post.
Every club with her own tradition, and for Chelsea, success is expected of a new manager from the off, as evidence with past managers of this football club, but owing to the situation last term, as the club were serving transfer ban, Frank Lampard was hailed for his fourth place finish in the league, as the season ended without a silverware, after losing two finals.
The Englishman has been exposed this season after an eventful summer, where the club bought a host of talented players, whereas, things haven’t been going their way so far thing season.
In the aftermath, the 42 year old now faces the possibility of losing his job as the club seems to be running out of patience with the one disappointment coming after another.
The club is currently without a win against the bigger teams this season and a good percentage of their 29 points earned so far this season, came against the lower teams in the league standings. Without telling Frank Lampard how close he is to being sacked, he surely knows what is coming for him.
Hence, we take a look at the names, who could take over from the highest scoring midfielder in the Premier League, with his job almost over at the London club.
1. Julian Nagelsmann
The 33 year old manager has been a revelation since starting his career as a manager. While serving as an assistant to Hoffenheim, he oversaw the club’s Under 19 “junior team” as they win the Under 19 BundesLiga title in 2013-14 before he was subsequently appointed the first team manager in 2015 at 28, making him the youngest manager in the history of the BundesLiga.
At the of the season, rescued Hoffenheim from relegation and fast forward to his first full season, Hoffenheim finished fourth and qualified for their first ever UEFA Champions League. After signing fresh contract at the end of that season, he left for RB Leipzig at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Nagelsmann move to Leipzig in 2019, as he begin to rise. He took the RedBull club to the semi final of the UEFA Champions League last season, becoming the youngest manager to reach the semi final of the competition.
Appointing the German will also help bring out the best in underperforming striker, Timo Werner, who flourished under the tactician at Leipzig. Should Chelsea look to get the best out of their talented squad, then Julian Nagelsmann should be one of their favourites to take over from Lampard.
2. Massimiliano Allegri
The 53 year old Italian is one of the best tactician of the game having made a name for himself at AC Milan and Juventus. In his debut season with Milan, he won the Scudetto, Milan’s first since 2004.
Allegri, with his reputation of instant impact wherever he goes is a good match for Chelsea’s tradition, with the club always obssesed with managers recording success as early as in their debut season.
While with Juventus, the Old Lady dominated Italian football while also making good impacts in the UEFA Champions League, reaching two finals.
A well decorated manager with years of experience could do well for Chelsea’s project, and Massimiliano Allegri, fill every blank in this category.
3. Andriy Shevchenko
The former Chelsea and AC Milan player was the assistant to Ukraine manager, Mykhaylo Fomenko, when the nation endured a miserable outing at the 2016 European Championship. He was appointed the manager after the tournament and the team has improved significantly.
Though Ukraine were unable to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it was a much improved qualifying campaign, which saw them miss out with just three points below the tournament’s beaten finalist, Croatia. However, they had an impressive UEFA Nations League campaign and have qualified for the EURO 2020 with ease.
Andriy Shevchenko’s success with his native National team has attract teams and have drawn speculations of a move to Chelsea, to succeed his former teammate at the club. Replacing Frank Lampard with Andriy Shevchenko will surely be an upgrade, should Chelsea look to appoint another young manager with prospect.
4. Ralph Hasenhuttl
Hasenhuttl becomes RB Leipzig’s first manager in the German top-flight and guided them to a second place finish in in the 2016-17 campaign, which was his and the club’s debut season. Outstanding.
However, his relationship with Leipzig became sour in his second season, and the Austrian asked for his contract to be terminated, after the club reached an agreement with Julian Nagelsmann to take over at the end of the season.
He took over at Southampton in December 2018, when the club was struggling and occupied one of the relegation places but managed to rescue the Saints from relegation that season. His second season saw Southampton finished 11th.
So far this season, his side have improved a lot and have even at some point topple the standings in a competitive league like the Premier League. Hasenhuttl could be tempted by the opportunity to manager a club like Chelsea, should the club come calling.
5. Ralf Rangnick
The German was the manager of Leipzig, when the RedBull club gained promotion to the BundesLiga before vacating the seat for Ralph Hasenhuttl. He returned for a second spell at RB Leipzig in the 2018-19 season, where he helped the club to a third place finish in the league, while also reaching the final of the DFB – Pokal, where they lost out to Bayern Munich.
The 63 year old is currently without a club after a u-turn in the agreement to take over at AC Milan at the start of this season. Given his pedigree, Rangnick should be one of the few that Chelsea should consider, to take them to the next level, post Frank Lampard.
6. Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel is currently one of the best tactician of the beautiful game and many find it appalling that French giant, PSG – Paris Saint German relieved him of his duty in the current campaign, even though Les Parisens have had a slow start to the campaign.
Tuchel came into the limelight when he replaced Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, where he led them to second place finish in his first season, while also reaching the final of the DFB- Pokal, where they lost to Bayern Munich.
He led PSG to their first ever UEFA Champions League final last season, but narrowly lost out to Bayern Munich. After leaving his post at PSG, Tuchel is currently out of job, which is why speculations of him replacing Lampard have intensified in recent weeks.
Tuchel will be a suitable placement at Chelsea and can also help bring out the best in their young players, as evidence in his time with Borussia Dortmund and recently at PSG.
7. Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers is no stranger to managing at the top level having manager Liverpool, Celtic and currently at Leicester City. It will be massive if The Blues could tempt the 47 year old away from Leicester City.
The former Northern Ireland defender has done a fantastic job at Leicester, making them establish a status of being one of the favourites to make the top four season in and out, despite the other sides spending big on transfers.
Becoming Chelsea manager will bring more promise and achievement for both parties giving the talents available at the club, and the funds available should the manager look to upgrade certain aspects of the squad.
And since most of these options are currently under contract, Chelsea might look to get an interim manager till the end of the season. Here, another available candidate is a former Blue, Claude Makalele, who is currently a technical mentor at the club.
Though not that much experience but would be an option, should Chelsea look to solve the issue from within, as a temporary fix, for the next six months.
Afolabi Kehinde Hassan
