Frank Lampard could be about to land a huge blow to Chelsea’s hopes this campaign by poaching a key member of Thomas Tuchel’s backroom team.
The 43-year-old is set to return to the Premier League after he was offered the Everton manager’s job on Friday, having impressed during a second interview this week.
Lampard has been out of work since he was sacked by the Blues just over 12 months ago but has been desperate to land a top flight job having been in the running to take over at Crystal Palace, Norwich & Newcastle.
According to The Athletic, Lampard wants to bring Anthony Barry with him to Goodison Park, although Tuchel is ready to fight and attempt to keep the coach at Chelsea.
Lampard could also target Gareth Southgate’s No.2, Steve Holland, but there are no plans at the moment to reunite with Jody Morris, who Lampard worked with at both Derby County and Chelsea.
Everton began the process of looking for Rafa Benitez’s replacement a fortnight ago and have moved from one candidate to another, before finally settling on the Chelsea legend.
On Wednesday it appeared that former Porto and Fenerbahce manager, Vitor Pereira, was the frontrunner, but his impending appointment was met with a furious backlash by fans who had been less than enamoured with the decision to appoint Benitez in the summer.
Roberto Martinez, who spent three years at Goodison Park earlier in his career, represented Everton’s first choice but they were unable to strike any deal with Belgium Football Association.
Caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson was also considered for a permanent role while Everton approached Rooney’s agent, but the former Manchester United skipper is intent on guiding Derby County to Championship safety.
‘Everton approached my agent and asked me to interview for the job,’ Rooney said earlier on Friday.
‘But I turned it down. I believe I will be a Premier League manager and I am ready for that 100 per cent. But I have a job at Derby, which is important to me.’
