The Blues have recently spent over £200 million on signings and the club icon has been tipped for a swift axing if he doesn’t deliver silverware
Chelsea‘s aggressive transfer spending spree has made the club one of the most attractive in Europe to manage and that it will only add pressure on Frank Lampard, according to Darren Bent.
Lampard secured an impressive fourth-place finish in his first season in the Stamford Bridge dugout, which ensured the club qualified for the Champions League for the 2020-21 campaign.
However, an FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal followed by a heavy 7-1 loss to Bayern Munich over two legs in Europe meant the Blues ended the season without a trophy.
Bent, who played alongside Lampard with England, thinks that managers like former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will now be gunning for the hot seat in west London following this summer’s transfer spend of around £200 million ($258m) and counting.
Indeed, he believes that signing the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell will put increased scrutiny on whether Lampard is suited to winning trophies at Chelsea.
“The next step is trophies,” Bent said to Goal ahead of the return of the EFL on Quest highlights show. “He has got to deliver trophies as he has bought top players from around Europe.
“Chelsea had a free crack at them and after having a free hit year with a transfer embargo, it has ramped up the pressure twofold. Werner, [Hakim] Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Havertz are all top players. They are luxuries for any manager in the positions they play.
“For me, he has got to deliver. My fear is that if they don’t get off to the best of starts, other great managers like Pochettino will be waiting to go in. I am pretty sure that most managers around the world would now quit where they were to manage this squad of players.”
Despite being impressed with Lampard’s first season at Chelsea, Bent was less convinced with his first year in management at Derby County, which he thinks leaves the Blues boss with a lot more to prove.
“I think he did well at Derby but, ultimately, I think he should have been promoted with Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori in the squad on loan,” he said. “I honestly think they should have gone up and they didn’t.
“I am not overly convinced he did an amazing job. He did well but he didn’t deliver above and beyond. As far as giving him a platform to manage at Chelsea, he did well this year when no one gave them an opportunity to do it. You have to commend that.
“I am sure [current Derby boss] Phillip Cocu wants to go up but his squad isn’t as strong as Lampard’s [was].”
Bent spent three years at Derby towards the end of his career as he bid to get the Pride Park side promoted shortly before Lampard took over. Following Lampard’s arrival, Ashley Cole came in for six months as a player in the final moments of his career.
When Lampard left for Chelsea, Derby hired Dutch legend Cocu, who brought in Wayne Rooney as a player-coach. And Bent, who lined up alongside Rooney in England’s forward line, thinks that the Manchester United legend deserves a shot at management like Lampard in the near future.
“It’s like a perfect landing spot. Before Wayne, Ashley Cole came in and it’s a club that gives senior players chances,” Bent added. “It has fantastic facilities, a great stadium, history. For me, I went to play and retire and leave.
“Whereas, Wayne has aspirations to be a coach and then a manager down there. Again, Mel Morris has bought into that and given him that spot to do it. I think at one stage he will want to be a manager.
“Phillip Cocu is in there now but Wayne is in an environment where he has proven himself and he has an owner who could give him a chance. With the youngsters in there that are playing well, Wayne is in the right place.
“He can influence the dressing room on how to play and act while learning his coaching ability. Even the coaching staff will benefit from working with a player of his calibre. He helps on all fronts.
“I think he can coach or become a manager quite easily. In terms of underrated, I totally think he is. I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves. He should be in the bracket with the absolute greats. He is in there but only reluctantly.
“People should say Wayne is definitely up there. He has high standards and knows what it takes to be the best. The one thing we have seen with top players becoming coaches is that he can’t expect his players to be able to do what he could do.
“We saw it with Roy Keane who couldn’t understand how his players could make these passes after he did it so easily. I think Wayne understands that these players are not on the same level but he is willing to sacrifice some of his game to help these youngsters out which is superb.
“It’s crazy, I never thought I would see Wayne Rooney in the Championship. I thought he could have gone to Asia and earned a lot of money anywhere. That shows me that he is still really hungry and it shows that Derby opportunity excites him. Having him in the Championship is massive.”
EFL on Quest returned on Saturday at 9pm and is on throughout the season on Wednesdays at 10.30pm for mid-week fixtures. Stream live and catch-up on dplay .
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