Stan Collymore has been able to get his teeth into the Chelsea managerial situation this week, and he had some interesting suggestions about which players might benefit from the arrival of Frank Lampard to replace Graham Potter.
“Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are two others who are facing uncertain futures,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview with Caughtoffside.
“I don’t think Pulisic has pulled up any trees since he moved from Borussia Dortmund and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will continue to be perceived as the bag egg but I am sure Lampard will open the door to anyone who can do a job between now and the end of the season so it’s very possible that both come back into the picture.
“The remainder of the season offers not only Mason Mount, but also Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and probably Edouard Mendy too, the opportunity to play if they’re given the chance, and perform well in order to secure summer transfers elsewhere.”
We would agree on most counts, but there are some big question marks in all those cases.
Kepa Arrizabalaga has been first choice almost all season, and even if Lampard lost trust in him during his first spell, it’s very hard to see him taking the major risk of changing goalkeeper with just a few games to go. Wherever he can, we imagine Lamps will leave things in place.
As for Mount, there are suspicions that those upstairs at the club had instructed Potter to leave the midfielder out because of his contract stalemate. We’re sure Lampard will want to play him – but will he be allowed?
Both Auba and Pulisic will likely get a chance at some point, but in a similar way to Mount, there might be pressure from board level to give the expensive January signings priority for minutes over those most likely to be jettisoned in the summer.
