LAMPARD BACK AT STAMFORD BRIDGE?

Former player in line to be next Chelsea boss as Sarri ‘big favourite’ for Juve job

CHELSEA want Frank Lampard back at Stamford Bridge to replace Maurizio Sarri as manager, according to reports in Italy.

Sarri is on a shortlist for the Juventus job following the news Massimiliano Allegri is leaving after five years in Turin.

Sarri’s fellow Premier League bosses Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino have also been linked with the Old Lady but the current Chelsea manager is edging

towards the front of the queue.

Guardiola has reiterated his commitment to Manchester City while Pochettino, with a Champions League final to look forward to next month, has four years left on his Spurs deal meaning compensation could be an issue for Juve.

Another former Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte, has been tipped for a return to Juventus having won three titles there before Allegri’s spell in charge but Sportsmail reported on Monday night that the club would not stand in Sarri’s way.

He has not enjoyed the best relationship with Chelsea fans, despite leading his side to third place in the Premier League as well as the Europa League final against Arsenal later this month, and has one year left on his deal at Stamford Bridge.

Now, he is on the front of Tuesday morning’s Corriere dello

Sport as the ‘big favourite’ for Juventus having been contacted by the Serie A champions but the Italian sports daily also claim that Pochettino is still an option.

It is Sky Italia who are reporting the Blues want Lampard back. Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has reported that Chelsea ‘have decided’ he is the man they want.

Their all-time leading scorer, who left west London in 2014, has been in charge of Derby since signing a three-year contract in May 2018 and has taken them to the Championship playoff final where they face Aston Villa for a place in the Premier League.

Lampard was not short of offers when he hung up his boots in 2016 after short spells at City and New York City following 13 years as a Chelsea player.

He would have been welcomed back at Stamford Bridge while there was also an opportunity within the England set up for a former midfielder who won 106 caps and scored 29 goals.

In an interview earlier this season, Lampard said: “I had an opportunity to be an ambassador at Chelsea but it wasn’t the right thing for me at the time.

“The FA, Dan Ashworth were fantastic, so there were open doors there but they were never concrete, but Derby came up and now I am here, I am actually quite pleased I have gone different.

“The Chelsea academy would have probably been sitting somewhere quite comfortable for me.

“Do I enjoy every aspect — not always every minute. I certainly enjoy the wins more than I did as a player. I feel the losses more than I did as a player, but I love it.

“I have heard managers say how lonely the job is. The last five minutes on the sidelines at Leeds are lonely, you’re 2-0 down and you know what’s coming.”