The interim era of Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge is coming to a close, with the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea now anticipated sooner than later. Although the Argentine’s appointment as manager has not yet been officially announced, a deal is all but done because the former Spurs manager is already in contact with the club’s administrators to discuss transfer targets for the 2023–24 season.
And on Sunday afternoon, when the Blues go to Manchester City for a match that may end with the hosts winning the Premier League, optimism for the future may very well be vital. But many struggling stars will feel the nerve that they are fighting for their careers at the club since Pochettino is surely keeping a watch.
Pochettino’s job at hand before Chelsea appointment
Lampard, meanwhile, will aim to finish his tumultuous second tenure with three victories, which will be no easy task considering that the match versus City will be followed by matches against Manchester United and Newcastle. Meanwhile, a few weeks before taking over at Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino will return to the dugout at Old Trafford in June as the next Soccer Aid World XI manager.
Pochettino, 51, is anticipated to be named the Blues’ next permanent manager in the upcoming days, and he will begin in that position on July 1. The Argentine has verbally agreed to succeed Lampard after protracted conversations with the former Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain manager.
However, Pochettino will undoubtedly be concentrating much of his attention right now on improving Chelsea’s situation following a difficult season at Stamford Bridge. For the first time since 1995–1996, the Blues are unlikely to finish in the top half of the standings as they currently languish 11th in the Premier League.
Lampard aims Haaland dig at Chelsea hierarchy
Frank Lampard claims during his first stint as Chelsea manager, he wanted to sign Erling Haaland, but club hierarchy blocked a transfer. The 22-year-old striker has helped Manchester City’s chances of winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup by scoring 52 goals in all competitions this season.
When Lampard was initially hired as manager, Chelsea was subject to a transfer embargo. Haaland was playing for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga throughout Lampard’s sole complete transfer window in charge, which occurred in the summer of 2020. Asked about Haaland in his pre-match press conference ahead of the City game, Lampard said:
“I don’t know whether he would have decided to come here anyway but I was a big fan of that [signing Haaland]. There are some of those that happen, aren’t there, that people know about or it could have been this way. People talk a lot about mistakes or things that could have been in football. Whether he would have come here, I don’t know but I was pushing big and on a few other players at the time. But he was the outstanding one.
“Was it close? He’ll only know the answer to that. What stage did it get to? From our point, I was certainly pushing it. I’m not sure what the appetite was everywhere else in the club to do it.
“The competition was big to take him because he was an outstanding player and I think there was a buyout clause at the time which was relatively reasonable, maybe, considering the player. So all those things. I don’t have enough detail to say how close it was, it’s by the by, really.”