Compared to the preseason predictions, the sun is shining on Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.
While he is a promising young coach, the outlook seemed bleak when Frank Lampard took over from Maurizio Sarri.
Hit with a transfer ban until February 2020, Chelsea are unable to sign more players until the summer. In a year when they lost their talisman in Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, it was a tough job for anyone to take on, especially a rookie.
Frank Lampard has chosen to put his faith in Chelsea’s young players, a decision that is currently paying off.
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After a shaky start, Lampard has got his young guns playing good, and vitally, winning football. The new Chelsea project has captured the imagination because it is new and so, so unusual.
If you had said two years ago that Chelsea will be a team that builds around it’s young players, no one would have believed you. The club has built its modern success on signing ready-made stars. The Chelsea youth academy was until now an infamous farm system, where the players would be loaned out until they could command a transfer fee, at which stage they would be sold.
This is why the news that Chelsea’s transfer ban could potentially be overturned is somewhat disappointing. Reports suggest that Lampard could be given $150 million to spend in January, if their ban is overturned on November 20.
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To have built such positive momentum around a young team, only to go out and spend megabucks after 6 months is somewhat anticlimactic. Perhaps Chelsea would be better off to wait until the summer to sign players, allowing Lampard to discover the true potential of his young team before making additions.
However, the temptation for Premier League clubs to spend money is irresistible. If nothing else, Chelsea will sign an asset that can be sold later to generate future funds. Frank Lampard is inexperienced when it comes to signing big-money players. Chelsea fans will hope that he can make the right decisions.
