Frank Lampard is going from strength to strength at Coventry City, and is set to bring a former Chelsea striker into the fold.
Coventry have been excellent this season. Lampard’s 11-game unbeaten streak in the Championship has them top of the table and looking like real promotion contenders.
He has his side purring, scoring 12 more goals than any other team and conceding the second-fewest.
But like any club vying for success, Coventry are looking to the January window for opportunities to strengthen. Reports suggest a Chelsea reunion is on the cards with a player discarded by the Blues eight years ago.
A Chelsea reunion for Frank Lampard and Patrick Bamford at Coventry
Patrick Bamford joined Chelsea aged 18, and was seen as the next big thing among English strikers.
He wouldn’t reach the heights expected of him while at Stamford Bridge, spending much of the five-year stint on loan at several English clubs. He was sold to Middlesbrough in 2017, before joining Leeds a year later and remaining at Elland Road until August just gone.
Now a free agent, Bamford was spotted at Coventry’s training ground, fuelling speculation of an imminent move.
Lampard will know Bamford well from their time together in West London, and as a free transfer, it could be a sharp bit of business.
Coventry aren’t short on firepower, but Bamford’s experience battling for promotion to the Premier League could be invaluable for the dressing room.
Frank Lampard’s sneakily great resume
Lampard hasn’t been in the management for too long, but already, he has achieved a lot.
He gets unfairly grouped with other former England stars who crashed and burned as managers, but with context, his career has been far from a failure.
Let’s take a look.
Derby County was the former Chelsea star’s first role, where he knocked Jose Mourinho’s Man United out of the Carabao Cup and reached the play-off final, losing out to Aston Villa. Not bad.
Next, he went to Chelsea. Despite being hit with a transfer embargo and losing Eden Hazard, his best player, he defied the odds and took Chelsea to a top-four spot with young players like Mason Mount and Reece James breaking out.
He would be sacked the following season, but the Chelsea side that started the Champions League final under Thomas Tuchel boasted seven players signed or developed by Lampard, including match-winner Kai Havertz.
Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham of Chelsea celebrate inside the dressing room with the Champions League Trophy
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
He kept Everton up when they turned to him, and his second spell at Chelsea is a bit of a write-off considering the mass restructuring that took place.
Now, he’s top of the league with Coventry, looking like a real contender to be playing in the top flight next season.
It’s not a perfect career, but it’s one that shows the Englishman as a capable coach. Still just 47, Lampard has a long time left to add to his resume, and you never know, that might include a third stint at Stamford Bridge.