Chelsea Exclusive: Lampard under growing pressure from Abramovich
Frank Lampard is under growing pressure from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Football Insider understands.
The Blues boss believes he has exceeded expectations in his debut season by steering his side to a top-four Premier League finish, an FA Cup final and the Champions League last-16 after being denied new signings last summer following the Eden Hazard sale.
A Chelsea source has told Football Insider that Abramovich is expecting "significant improvements" from the team next season.
The billionaire chief is now expecting a title challenge from the team in the new campaign after they ended 2019-20 a mammoth 33 points behind Liverpool and only secured a top-four place on the final day.
Club legend Lampard will know better than most how Abramovich's famous lack of patience makes managing the club a precarious prospect.
He watched as multiple top-line head coaches were sacked by the Russian, often the season after cantering to the title.
The long-standing Russian owner has already backed Lampard to the hilt in this summer's market.
Attackers Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have been signed at a combined £90million and the club are also in talks to sign Kai Havertz for around £75m.
Chelsea are also in the market for a new number one as well as a midfield anchorman, centre-back and a left-back.
As revealed by Football Insider yesterday, the Londoners are making good progress in buying Ben Chilwell for nearly £30m less than the fee demanded by Leicester City.
They have also made Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez their top centre-back target following difficulties in persuading West Ham to part with Declan Rice.