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Chelsea's purple patch is well and truly over, as the team that was widely tipped to challenge for the title is now facing an uphill task to finish in the top four.
Not just Chelsea, but their manager Frank Lampard is also under serious pressure from the board and media. Five defeats in eight games have seen the team slip to eighth place in the Premier League table. Moreover, repeated failures against teams in the top seven have led to doubts about Lampard's nous as a manager.
Talks of transfers and loan deals for players have been overshadowed by speculation about the Chelsea manager's immediate future at the club.
On that note, we bring you the main stories surrounding Chelsea from January 21.
Lampard to lose Chelsea job if results don't improve
According to Sky Sports, Frank Lampard will lose his Chelsea job if he cannot quickly turn things around.
Things can change in no time in football, and Lampard's Chelsea are a true testament to the same. Suddenly, the Blues are struggling to create chances in games and have lacked inspiration on the pitch.
They have matches against Luton Town in the FA Cup, followed by Wolves and Burnley in the PL. Should they not bag wins in these games or show signs of resurgence, it could be a premature end to what was supposed to be a special return to Chelsea for Lampard.
Thomas Tuchel and Massimiliano Allegri are the names being reportedly lined up for the Chelsea job.
Mark Schwarzer urges Chelsea to build team around Havertz
Former Chelsea player Mark Schwarzer has urged the Blues to build their team around 21-year-old German star Kai Havertz.
Havertz has endured a frustrating spell since joining from Bayer Leverkusen, with questions about his adaptability being raised frequently. He has also not been deployed in his favored number 10 role, and Schwarzer feels Chelsea should structure their playing XI around him. He said:
“Kai Havertz was the main man at Leverkusen last season. He came out of himself more and dominated games more for longer periods of time. I get the feeling he needs to be that focal point, focal player. Needs to be the biggest star player."
He added:
“Everything needs to go through him, that’s not happening at Chelsea. He’s not even in the game for most of the time.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek labels Sarri as the most influential manager he's played under
Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek has labeled Maurizio Sarri as the most influential manager he has worked with in his senior career.
In a career that hasn't really taken off due to changes in management personnel and a series of injuries, Loftus-Cheek scored 10 goals across all competitions in 40 matches under Sarri.
The midfielder came into his own under the Italian tactician, displaying his footballing intelligence and ability to carry the ball.
This is what Loftus-Cheek had to say about Sarri's impact on him at Chelsea:
“Sarri for sure. I felt like he was truthful with me. At the start, I wasn’t playing. He told me why and said if I want to play, I have to do this and that gave me something to work towards and eventually I started to do what he asked and I played."
The Chelsea midfielder continued:
“That gave me confidence to know that if I keep doing that, I’ll keep playing. Then you start to get more understanding of the game. I played in an eight role, with one deep, so I had the licence to go forward and affect the game in that way. I felt that was a good season and in my head after that season I was like ‘we kick on next season’, but obviously got the bad injury which halted my progression, but now it’s time to build up again.”
Loftus-Cheek returned to action for Fulham against Manchester United yesterday but ended up on the losing side.
