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The Premier League world has been stunned this morning with the news that Chelsea have reportedly sacked boss Frank Lampard, with former Paris St. Germain manager Thomas Tuchel already lined up to take over.
Frank Lampard’s time at Chelsea hasn’t lasted all that long, and while he’s had his ups and downs, it’s fair to say that he definitely did a lot of good for some players.
While the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Kai Havertz, and Kepa Arrizabalaga struggled for traction under Lampard, plenty of other Chelsea stars thrived during his reign. In fact, some made an impact that may not have been possible without Lampard at the helm.
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Here are five Chelsea stars who improved under Frank Lampard.
#1 Mason Mount
Probably the biggest success story of Frank Lampard’s time in charge of Chelsea is academy graduate Mason Mount.
The young midfielder had already enjoyed a fruitful year playing under Lampard during his loan spell at Derby County. So when Chelsea’s record goalscorer took over at Stamford Bridge, it was clear that Mount would have a part to play.
Nobody could really have seen how much of a key player Mount would become, though.
Just 20 years old when Lampard took over Chelsea, he found himself handed his competitive debut for the club on the opening day of the 2019-20 campaign. And while that match didn’t go so well – a 4-0 loss to Manchester United – things quickly improved.
Mount scored his first Chelsea goal a week later in a home game against Leicester and appeared in all but one of the Blues’ Premier League games, starting 32 of them. Along the way, he scored seven goals and registered five assists, and made his England senior debut in the process.
The current Premier League campaign has seen plenty of changes in Chelsea’s starting XI, but Mount remained a constant under Lampard – starting 17 of the Blues’ 18 matches thus far.
Capable of playing as both a creative midfielder, wide attacker, and a more combative #8, Mount’s versatility, tenacity, and hard work made him a favorite of Lampard’s and have also marked him out as one of Chelsea’s best players.
Simply put, nobody else benefited from Lampard’s tenure as Chelsea boss quite so much.
#2 Tammy Abraham
It seems hard to believe now that he’s been fired, but when he initially took over as Chelsea boss in the summer of 2019, many people felt that Frank Lampard had a “free hit." That was because of the Blues’ transfer ban, preventing him from signing any new players in his first transfer window.
Lampard instead turned to Chelsea’s much-vaunted academy, and one player who made the most of the opportunity given to him was definitely striker Tammy Abraham.
Abraham was coming off an impressive season on loan at Aston Villa, where he’d scored 25 goals and spearheaded their promotion charge. But nobody really expected him to make an instant impact in the Premier League.
However, the 23-year-old was trusted by Lampard to lead Chelsea’s line for the 2019-20 campaign, and in the end, the decision felt like a masterstroke.
After reportedly working on his finishing with Lampard, Abraham first found the net for the Blues by scoring a brace against Norwich City. And from there, the goals simply flowed.
By the end of the campaign, the academy graduate had scored 18 goals – 15 of them in the Premier League – and was the first English player to finish as Chelsea’s top scorer since Lampard himself.
And while first-team opportunities have been more limited during the current campaign, Abraham’s 11 goals still mean that he’s currently the Blues’ leading goalscorer – and perhaps the best man to lead the line under new boss Thomas Tuchel.
#3 Kurt Zouma
After a largely successful run on loan at Everton in the 2018-19 season, questions abounded over the future of defender Kurt Zouma upon his return to Chelsea at the end of the campaign.
Many observers felt that the Frenchman would prove to be surplus to requirements and would end up being forced out of the club. However, under Frank Lampard, Zouma ended up thriving and is now considered a key member of Chelsea’s starting XI.
Despite having plenty of competition for his place from the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Antonio Rudiger, Zouma remained practically the one constant in Chelsea’s defense under Lampard.
And while that defense was widely questioned on numerous occasions last season, the first half of the 2020-21 campaign has seen Zouma improve dramatically.
Not only has he formed a rock-solid partnership with Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva, but he’s also been able to contribute at the other end of the pitch with four goals to his name.
Given his supposed limitations when he first returned to the club, it’s clear that the Frenchman has improved under Lampard – meaning the outgoing Chelsea boss has left his successor Thomas Tuchel with an extremely talented defender to make use of.
#4 Mateo Kovacic
Maurizio Sarri’s reign at Chelsea might not have gone too badly – his side finished third in the Premier League, after all. But the Italian boss was largely maligned by Blues fans. And to be fair, they had their reasons.
One such reason was his persistence with Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic. Signed in a loan deal from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, Kovacic felt like an unneeded addition to an already top-heavy squad.
And on the pitch, he failed to make an impact and became most known for either replacing or being replaced by Ross Barkley.
When Chelsea made his move permanent in the summer of 2019, then most Blues fans were largely underwhelmed. However, under Frank Lampard’s management, Kovacic suddenly burst into life.
Usually deployed as a box-to-box midfielder whose job was to start attacks from deeper positions, Kovacic thrived under Lampard during the 2019-20 campaign. His record of 23 Premier League starts was similar to his record under Sarri, but his performances were definitely not.
At times, Kovacic seemed impossible to dispossess, and his stats improved markedly – from chipping in with more assists to doubling his amount of successful dribbles per game. Suddenly, the £40m fee paid for him felt like a bargain.
This season has seen the Croatian play a little less, but there can be no doubt that he improved his form tremendously under Lampard. Kovacic could now play a key role under new boss Thomas Tuchel.
#5 Reece James
While Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham were almost immediately thrust into Chelsea’s first team by Frank Lampard, it took Reece James a little longer to establish himself.
However, in the 18 months under Lampard that have followed, James has developed his game hugely and now stands as one of the Premier League’s best right-backs.
The 2019-20 campaign saw James largely used as a back-up to club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, with the youngster being preferred against more speedy opponents such as Wilfried Zaha. But in the current season, there can be no question that James is now the first choice at Stamford Bridge.
He’s played 14 of Chelsea’s 19 matches and has already chipped in with one goal and two assists, as well as a Man of the Match-level display against Brighton & Hove Albion.
And all of his statistics have improved, too, from the amount of tackles and clearances he makes per game to his passing success rate and the amount of crosses he’s putting in per game.
James was always a top-level prospect, as fans who watched him on loan at Wigan would attest. However, it’s hard to dispute that the 21-year-old definitely improved under the tutelage of Lampard.
