Frank Lampard's brand of football and how Chelsea could lineup under him

Chelsea yesterday confirmed the appointment of club legend and all-time top scorer Frank Lampard as head coach on a three-year deal. The Englishman, widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in the Premier League era, has taken over the reins from Maurizio Sarri, who returned to Italy after Europa League glory to take over as Juventus manager.

Off the pitch, Lampard's arrival coincides with a tumultuous time for the London club. Despite signing a three-year deal in 2018, the Old Lady's advances proved too big to turn down for Sarri as he abandoned Chelsea in favour of a return to Italy and to make matters worse, Chelsea have been slapped with a two-window transfer ban.

According to FIFA, the ban has been imposed as a result of multiple violations pertaining to the signing and registration of players under the age of 18.

Lampard enjoyed a successful debut season as manager with Derby County. After Gary Rowett had left at the end of the 2017/18 season to join Stoke City, Lampard took over an ageing squad and was tasked with restoring the Rams to the Premier League. Although Derby agonizingly missed out on promotion in the playoff final to Aston Villa, Lampard's appointment brought excitement to the fans and players alike.

Derby County's style of play took a refreshing change in the 2018/19 season and Lampard's philosophy coupled with his ability to phase out the older players in favour of the likes of Harry Wilson, Mason Mount and Fiyako Tomori, two of whom are incidentally owned by Chelsea, earned him widespread praise.

Footballing philosophy at Derby County

From a tactical standpoint, Derby County used a basic 4-3-3 for a sizable chunk of last season. His teams adopted different shapes in different phases of play, allowing him to use the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1 interchangeably. His wide players tend to occupy central spaces, effectively as false #10s, allowing the central midfielders to link-up closely with one another to facilitate attacks.

The main feature of Lampard's philosophy is his players' willingness to work tirelessly off the ball and this along with their forwards' ability to run in behind players in anticipation of defence-splitting through balls makes for an effective system. In his solitary season as a manager, his players were never afraid to have a pop at goal from distance if space opened up and Harry Wilson's record when it comes to scoring long-range screamers is conclusive proof of this hypothesis.

A recurring theme observed with Lampard's brand of football is his team's willingness to play through the centre. Derby County's centre-halves played close to each other and the defensive midfielder often dropped deep, positioning himself as a third centre-half in order to open up more passing options. With the wingers virtually operating as false #10s, the wings were vacated, giving the full-backs freedom to go up the pitch if the situation called for it.

How Chelsea could set up next season

Chelsea have been hit with a transfer ban and barring a dramatic change of stance from the governing bodies, Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic look set to be their only signings. The likes of Manchester City and Liverpool have already left them behind with their exploits last season and Spurs look set to have a strong transfer window, putting the blues in a spot of bother. Chelsea's squad is by no means perfect but one would argue that Lampard has enough tools at his disposal to steady the ship at the very least.

The Englishman said in his interview with Chelsea TV that he does not adopt his footballing philosophy from one specific manager and went on to add that he'd set his team up based on the players he'd have at his disposal. It's hard to see him deviating too much from the brand of football that earned him plaudits universally and it looks likely that his Chelsea side will line up the way Derby County did, which is the 4-3-3.

Kepa Arrizabalaga is an automatic starter between the sticks after a strong first season at the club. The Spaniard, signed for a world record fee of £70 million in 2018, enhanced his reputation in his first season in England and looks set to be their #1 for years to come.

Reece James, coming on the back of an outstanding loan spell at Wigan, looked set to be given a chance to stake his claim for the right-back spot but he's set to miss the start of the season with a suspected broken ankle. The English youngster is highly rated by everyone around the club and in his absence, the ever so reliable Cesar Azpilicueta looks set to continue at right-back.

Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz are expected to start the season at the heart of the defence and Kurt Zouma has emerged as another useful option after a strong loan spell at Everton. Along with Andreas Christensen, he'll look to have a strong pre-season to force his way into the manager's plans.

The left-back spot is one that will give Lampard a headache or two. With Marcos Alonso not having the best of times, Emerson Palmieri looks set to start the season and the Spaniard will hope he can finally nail down a starting position at the club, two years after joining from Roma.

A lot has been said about Jorginho over the course of the last 12 months. The Italian came to the Premier League with a glowing reputation and despite what's been said about him in the media, he had a decent first season at the club and looks nailed on to start the season at the heart of midfield.

N'Golo Kante is another guaranteed starter at the centre of the park and with Ruben Loftus-Cheek injured, Mateo Kovacic could start the season to complete the midfield. Mason Mount is a wildcard option in midfield.

Having worked with Lampard previously at Derby, the manager and the player will know a thing or two about each other and the youngster will definitely have a role to play this season. It's hard to fathom Mount being thrown into the first team fray immediately but with 4 competitions to play for this season, the English youngster is sure to be given a chance at some point of the season.

After talisman Eden Hazard departed to Real Madrid for a fee believed to be in the excess of €100 million, Chelsea's attack does not look as potent anymore and they seem to have lost their fear factor. With Callum Hudson-Odoi injured and Willian not impressing recently, Christian Pulisic and Pedro Rodriguez are expected to start on either flank and it remains to be seen who'll lead the line.

The likes of Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi have returned from their loan spells and including Olivier Giroud, the trio are the in-house options Lampard has at his disposal currently.

Frank Lampard is undoubtedly one of Chelsea Football Club's greatest ever players and his decision to return to Stamford Bridge in a time of need proves how close the club is to his heart. He'll look to dazzle the Blues by implementing the brand of football that's made him one of the hottest young managerial talents in world football.

Chelsea have a bad track-record with managers and they've developed an unwanted reputation of chopping and changing managers too quickly and Lampard will hope he's given a fair chance to stamp his authority at the club. His exploits as a player will remain unmatched for years to come and he'll look to strengthen his legacy at the club, this time as the head coach.