Chelsea manager Frank Lampard's future at the club has been questioned due to the Blues' awful run of form in recent weeks, and as per new reports in England, he could be sacked as early as Tuesday night should they lose to Leicester City.
The Blues were the highest spenders in the summer transfer market as Lampard was handed a small fortune to bolster his side in several areas. After a mighty impressive start to the campaign, the former champions currently sit in seventh place with just 29 points to show for from their first 18 games so far.
Chelsea recently beat Fulham by a scoreline of 1-0 after a relatively uninspiring display against the relegation-threatened side. They went into the fixture with just one win in their six previous Premier League games, a run which included losses to Arsenal, Everton, Manchester City, Wolves, and a draw away at Villa Park.
With another challenging trip on the horizon as Brendan Rodgers' in-form Leicester City await them at the King Power, a loss could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Chelsea's club legend.
This is according to The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson, who responded with a 'yes' when asked if Lampard could be sacked if the Blues lose at King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, and suggested that there already are question marks over his future.
The 42-year-old took over at Stamford Bridge after Maurizio Sarri departed for Juventus and led his former side to a fourth-place finish and an FA Cup final in his debut season, albeit losing the latter to the Gunners. Lampard then went on to oversee a staggering spend of £222m last summer, recruiting a host of new players in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, and Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea not considering Rodgers for Stamford Bridge job
Several names including those of Max Allegri, Julian Nagelsmann, and Rodgers have been mentioned as potential successors to Lampard at the helm of Chelsea over the last few weeks as the Englishman's future began to come into question.
Rodgers, in particular, has been tipped to take over at Stamford Bridge given his excellent work with the Foxes over the last couple of years and experience in the league.
However, as per Johnson, the former Liverpool manager is not high up on Chelsea's list of potential replacements. Discussing a potential move for Rodgers, Johnson remarked;
"He’s [Rodgers] definitely valued as a coach. And who wouldn’t value him as a coach because of the jobs he’s done at Leicester and Celtic. And he made an impression when he was in charge of the [Chelsea] youth and reserve team. But there are a lot of things Brendan has said and done over the years which did not go down too well with the hierarchy."
"I think if Chelsea are going to appoint another manager they might be looking elsewhere. But he’d definitely be lower down on the list."
Rodgers' Leicester City are currently just two points off league leaders Manchester United with 35 points in 18 games.