CHELSEA legend Joe Cole has urged Frank Lampard to “stay away” from the Blues job if he is offered a stunning return to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard has just guided Coventry to Premier League promotion after a 25-year absence.
Sign up for the Chelsea newsletter
Thank you!
Joe Cole has urged ex-Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard not to consider a return to the club Credit: PA
Lampard is the name on everyone’s lips after guiding Coventry to Premier League promotion Credit: Alamy
The ex-England midfielder has transformed Coventry after taking over when they were 17th in the Championship in November 2024.
Lampard will now have a host of admirers and has been linked with returning to his beloved Chelsea after they sacked Liam Rosenior.
The club will be looking for a new permanent boss in the summer but ex-team-mate has told Lampard to forget about going back.
Speaking to Paddy Power, Cole said: “Frank should stay away from it. The temptation for Frank, because he loves the club, would be to come back and give it another whirl.
BIG ONE
Win VW Transporter + Golf Clubsport or £80k alternative from just 36p with our code
Many Franks
Emotional Lampard’s celebrates Coventry’s PL return with wife Christine
“He’s done a fantastic job at Coventry. Nobody would have backed Coventry for promotion at the start of the season.
“He’s got a real challenge keeping them in the league next season. All of his focus and mental energy now should be about recruitment. He should be identifying five, six, seven players he wants [for Coventry].
“If I was him, I wouldn’t go to Chelsea. In any job, you’re being judged on your results but [at Chelsea] you don’t have full control over what you can do. That’s insane.”
Lampard has already managed Chelsea twice – first in 2019 as he guided the team to a top four finish while under a transfer embargo, before being axed in 2021.
Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in 2021 before returning as interim boss in 2023 Credit: Getty
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
He then went back for an interim spell in 2023 but he only managed one win from 11 games.
Chelsea have been linked with the likes of Andoni Iraola, who will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, and ex-player Cesc Fabregas.
Cole, who played 282 times for the club, fancies ex-Liverpool star Xabi Alonso for the job after he left Real Madrid last year.
But he believes it’s unlikely the Spaniard would want the top job at Stamford Bridge and worries Todd Boehly‘s handling of the club will deter big name bosses.
Cole added: “The way the new owners have handled all of the managers since they came in, it will really narrow the pool because any top manager worth their salt will not want to come into this job. It won’t be high up on their list, let’s say.
“I’d love to see Xabi Alonso at the club. I loved watching his [Bayer] Leverkusen team. I think he was hard done by at Real Madrid.
“He understands massive clubs. He’s a winner. The sad thing is I don’t think Xabi Alonso would even consider Chelsea.”
