Frank Lampard might have been fancying taking two of his former players at Chelsea on his new journey.
Many are convinced that Roy Hodgson has done quite a better job than Frank de Boer in managing Crystal Palace.
However, the club still never managed to make it to the Top 10 in the English Premier League under his leadership for three consecutive seasons now.
According to The Telegraph, this has led to former Chelsea boss Lampard emerging as the frontrunner to take over Hodgson’s place at Crystal Palace.
Apparently, Crystal Palace’s search for a new manager has been going on for months now, and the club has been seriously considering signing Lampard, the report said.
Even more interesting, the report specified that the Eagles currently have about 11 players approaching the end of their contracts this summer.
With that in mind, the renowned British outlet added that Crystal Palace is planning a £50 million ($70 million) summer transfer overhaul that seeks to land four or five new signings and several “high-profile” loan players.
It was also noted that Lampard could play a key role in Crystal Palace’s plans, having established a good relationship with the Blues.
If the report is to be true, the three-time Premier League champion is likely to raid his former players Billy Gilmour and Tammy Abraham, whose futures at Stamford Bridge have become uncertain.
Gilmour has yet to make any significant contribution to Chelsea and has been deemed a fringe player under new Blues manager Thomas Tuchel.
On the other hand, Abraham was a linchpin striker during Lampard’s time with the Blues but is slowly falling out of Tuchel’s pecking order in recent times.
Addressing Abraham’s situation and reduced playing time, Tuchel earlier bared that there’s nothing to worry about.
Hence, the German hopes Abraham doesn’t get distracted by rumors swirling he is becoming irrelevant to the club.
“I think everyone is concerned when they are not in the squad,” Tuchel said of Abraham’s situation in a media conference. “It’s never an easy decision for me. We sometimes spend an hour after the last training session about which decisions to take, which players we have to leave at home. It’s thin margins that decide.”
“Tammy [Abraham] has had these decisions a few times now against him, which are never personal,” he continued. “This is life sometimes for a player at Chelsea. I hope he doesn’t get lost in too many thoughts. He knows from me that he doesn’t have to be too concerned or have too many thoughts about his situation.”
