Chelsea fans can be forgiven for getting frustrated with the club, with the new manager yet to be announced. However, journalist Simon Phillips has his hunches on why the announcement about Frank Lampard is taking so long.
What’s being said
The editor at the Chelsea Echo took to Twitter to update fans on what he thought was the reason for Chelsea delaying any announcement of Lampard, and he could be right.
I’ve said all along Derby wanted to have a replacement sorted. Chelsea actually being respectful by not announcing anything until that’s done. Lampard to Chelsea is all done and signed.
— Simon Phillips (@SiPhillipsSport) July 2, 2019
Phillips reckons that Chelsea are delaying an announcement on Lampard becoming the new Chelsea manager due to the fact Derby County haven’t secured a replacement yet.
Phillips went on to say that he thinks any deal to bring Lampard back to the club has been signed and sealed, and only Derby County’s pursuit of Dutchman Phillip Cocu is holding it up.
He could be right
After being linked with Chelsea for a number of weeks now, Chelsea fans, have rightly, expected the deal to have gone through now.
Some of Chelsea’s first-team member are due to return to pre-season training this Friday, and with no manager at the helm, it could hamper their preparation ahead of a crunch opening Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Given Chelsea were afforded permission to speak to Lampard last week by Derby County, a deal is likely to have been completed. And given the widespread speculation about a deal being agreed between Chelsea and the 41-year-old manager, Phillip’s claims that the club is merely waiting for Derby County to find a replacement look to be true.
