In the same way that Chelsea's transfer ban eased expectations on manager Frank Lampard during his first season in charge, the club's £220 million summer outlay is a key reason why he now finds himself under pressure.
Lampard knows from his 13 years as a player in west London that Stamford Bridge is an unforgiving place for any manager. Of the 12 men appointed since owner Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003, only Jose Mourinho (212 games, in two spells), Antonio Conte (76) and Carlo Ancelotti (76) have taken charge of more Premier League games for Chelsea than Lampard's 55.
Lampard's position at the vanguard of the most successful era in the club history -- not to mention being their all-time record goal scorer -- should buy him more time than most in the role, but history tells us the clock is ticking.
The club initially responded well after letting talisman Eden Hazard join Real Madrid for €100m in 2019, with Lampard successful integrating several youngsters from the club's academy to secure a top-four Premier League finish in his first season. Yet Saturday's trip to relegation-threatened Fulham sees Lampard needing to improve a dismal run of one win from six league games, which has increased speculation over his position as the club sit in ninth place, fully 10 points behind the leaders.
There is a sense in some quarters that while teams naturally take time to mould, a more experienced manager would be getting more out such an expensively assembled group in the short-term. But given that the £220m acquisition of six players this summer was designed to make a repeat of last season the minimum aim, how have the new boys performed to date?
The 21-year-old arrived with a lofty reputation and a price tag fractionally under the club's all-time record fee of £71.5m (spent on goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018), but Havertz is yet to live up to either in the opening months of his Chelsea career. There are mitigating factors, not least adjusting to a new league, but also contracting COVID-19 in November to the extent he missed several weeks of training. But Havertz's difficulties seemingly encapsulate the conundrum Lampard is so far struggling to solve.
Clubs invariably don't spend such a huge sum on one player and then try him out in a number of positions, but Havertz has perhaps been experimented with more than any other player. It is something he's used to, switching between roles as false No. 9, a No. 10 or a right-wing berth for Bayer Leverkusen, but in a tougher league with the chopping and changing of personnel around him, Havertz is yet to look at home.
Lampard's formation switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 removes the No. 10 position as an option and a deeper central midfield role is not producing Havertz's best form, not least because it requires him to perform more defensive duties. The German is now the most expensive piece of a puzzle Lampard is trying to solve, namely how to fit all his attacking players into the same team and form a cohesive unit.
Time is on Havertz's side to develop as a player but it is Lampard's responsibility to help create the best opportunity for him to thrive. Article here
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