Chelsea are considering appointing club legend Frank Lampard as their new manager with Maurizio Sarri poised to leave for Juventus.
The Italians turbulent 10-month spell in charge culminated in Champions League qualification and Europa League glory, but the lure of a return to Italy and the chance to manage one of Europes most prestigious clubs is understood to be too strong to resist.
Sarris representatives are to meet with the Chelsea hierarchy this weekend in an effort to thrash out a compensation package, before he is confirmed as Max Allegris successor early next week.
Allegri is understood to be among the leading candidates to replace Sarri at Stamford Bridge and was earlier this week said to be undertaking English lessons ahead of a potential move to the Premier League.
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The Times, however, report that Chelsea are strongly evaluating the possibility of bringing Lampard back to west London aware of the need to make an appointment with a long-term strategy in mind, especially given the two-window transfer ban imposed on the club by FIFA.
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Chelsea on Friday appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but are yet to ask for their punishment to be frozen. Any new manager, therefore, would be unable to make new signings for 12 months.
Lampard narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League during his first season in management with Derby, guiding an exciting young side to the play-off final where the Rams were beaten by Aston Villa.
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