There has been lots of speculation on Chelsea legend Frank Lampard’s future, especially with interest from the Major Soccer League. Unlike last year, when Frank was clearly having at least one more season in him, this season he has shown clear signs of ageing. Despite being old and much slower than his previous self, Lampard has a wealth of experience which gives Mourinho a headache whether to extend his contract or not.
Well, Lampard is to Chelsea what Ryan Giggs is for Manchester United. Both act as dressing room mentors to younger players when not on the pitch. Lampard has the experience and the intelligence to train younger central midfielders while he is still in the team. For example, we can look into the case of Marco van Ginkel -Tipped off as an excellent prospect, a typical central midfielder, very similar to the likes of Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard. It was unfortunate for Van Ginkel and Chelsea that the Dutch international got injured for the season. Lampard and van Ginkel working together would have given the youngster tons of valuable advice on his game-play and technique and how to play the Chelsea way.
Frank Lampard, this season has shown clearly that he cannot play as a first choice anymore. His passing has become much slower and he is lesser involved in the major moves in the match, which was always expected because of his ageing. Frank Lampard, despite that, has bagged some crucial goals this season. He is always that sort of veteran, who can be brought on for the last ten minutes when Chelsea need another goal, and his shooting invariably is his strongest asset.
If Chelsea let go of Frank, who actually took a pay-cut to stay in Chelsea, they will lose out on experience and squad depth. An experienced player can still affect the game much positively than an extremely young player. Lampard is an household name in football and we all have witnessed him in his prime, so him being in the team on the bench can be a great boost for Mourinho to handle the dressing room as well as using him as a veteran in cup games and as a squad rotation player while the first team guys need a rest.
As it looks unlikely that Chelsea will actually go for a central midfielder in the summer, as they already have Matic, Ramires and Van Ginkel for next season, Lampard looks like the best option for the substitute central midfielder. With Chelsea struggling with the Financial Fair Play rules, they will have to sell quite a few players in order to accumulate the transfer fee required for a world class striker. In this case, we cannot see fringe players Mikel or Romeu being retained. Them still being young, yet actually not required by Chelsea, can be sold for a good amount of money. They are the sort of players whom one cannot actually keep on the bench for too long. Frank Lampard, as an experienced veteran would definitely be ready to play another season, but as a back-up for Van Ginkel, just like he has played as a squad rotation player this season.