The Chelsea midfielder has been outspoken of late, and is very much of the club’s furniture, but will a decision be made to move him on in the summer?
His goals record shows just how integral Frank Lampard has been to Chelsea’s success, scoring more than 10 goals in each of his past nine seasons with the club.
But will he get the chance to stretch that remarkable record to 10 seasons?
This season for sure has been a very difficult one for the player, for the first time he has found himself spending an equal amount of time on the bench as the pitch.
His international career has also been mixed of late, dropped one minute, and scoring the winner in a friendly against Spain the next.
As much as Lampard likes to see himself as the consummate professional, his recent interview about the fate of Andre Villas-Boas clearly indicates that deep down he was happy to see the manager sacked.
Among his numerous quotes from his interview on Sunday; “I wasn’t disrespectful. I just told him I thought I should be playing.”
Of course no player should be happy about sitting on the bench, but to tell the manager he is wrong is equally disrespectful to his own teammates.
Age 34 in June, Frank Lampard and his ego are going to have to quickly adapt to the fact that he will no longer be first choice on a regular basis.
If he can’t handle that, and continues to cause trouble behind the scenes and kick up a fuss every time he is dropped, Chelsea are better off without him.
It is no secret the club are ready to embark on a major project of transformation this summer, with ‘out with the old and in with the new’ very much the mission statement.
If the club, and the next manager wants to make an impression, then selling Lampard would certainly do that.
Even today he has been linked with a move to China, pretty unlikely he would go there, but to be re-united with Carlo Ancelotti at PSG is a far more realistic possibility.
Of course the player will feel he has plenty to offer, which he will attempt to prove during the season’s remaining games, and in the Champions League, with Euro 2012 also presenting another opportunity.
But Chelsea’s future, it is not Frank Lampard. It is just a question of whether the club decides to cut the cord this summer, or prolong his stay over the next few years.
If the player wants to do this, he will have to accept that being on the bench on a regular basis is a price he may have to pay.
What do you think, will Frank Lampard be a Chelsea player next season?
image: © sonyds
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