Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea after just 18 months as head coach.
Former Blues midfielder Lampard enjoyed a good first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, taking the club to the FA Cup final and securing qualification for the Champions League.
But after being given more than £200m to spend on new players in the summer, Chelsea find themselves ninth in the Premier League after 19 games, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United and five points off Liverpool in fourth.
Lampard took the side on a 17-game unbeaten run but away defeats to Everton, Wolves, Arsenal and Leicester and a 3-1 home defeat to Manchester City have cost him his job.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich said the decision to sack Lampard was ‘very difficult’ and that he will always remain an ‘important icon’ at the club.
“On behalf of everyone at the Club, the Board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as Head Coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”
According to Sky in Germany, Thomas Tuchel is in line to replace Lampard. The former Borussia Dortmund coach is available after leaving Paris Saint-Germain in December.
Tuchel won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 with Dortmund before a brief but trophy-laden spell in Paris which saw him win two Ligue 1 titles and a French Cup, as well as reaching the final of last season’s Champions League, which they lost to Bayern Munich.
