Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be the main beneficiary of Chelsea’s decision to bring in Frank Lampard on an interim management basis until the end of the season. Under Graham Potter, the 33-year-old was essentially frozen out of the squad appearing for just 812 minutes in Potter’s reign at Stamford Bridge which also saw him omitted from the Blues’ Champions League knockout stage squad, despite a promising start.
Frank Lampard said: “We’ll see in that one. I don’t want to go position specific. What I do want to say is, the players have to feel when they train and when they turn up for training and how they prepare, the competitive nature in the squad to get a place in the team needs to be high in every position. Auba is a bit like everyone in the squad, starting before or not starting so much, everyone needs to compete in training and show they’re worthy of their place. History says he has a fantastic goalscoring record. So, we’ll see.”
Further hinting at possible changes for the weekend,
Frank Lampard added: “Tomorrow [Saturday] will be an opportunity for some players who didn’t play in the Champions League, possibly didn’t play at the weekend, to come in because it’s a game where we absolutely need freshness and energy as well. So every opportunity, they should take.”
After only signing a one-year contract at Stamford Bridge last summer, an end-of-season exit looks inevitable with Aubameyang turning 34 in the summer. However, the coming six weeks could be a chance for the former Arsenal to show he is still capable of playing at the highest level and also prove a point to Lampard and those at Chelsea who doubted him.
