Frank Lampard still has a future at Chelsea

Chelsea are in a stage of rebuilding – next season a new manager will be at the helm and surely another couple of new players will be splurged on in the summer transfer window. However, one issue that the west London club need to decide on is whether to extend the contract of long-standing midfielder Frank Lampard, which expires this summer.

Roman Abramovich has instilled a policy of buying talented young players for the Stamford Bridge club, and has been reluctant to extend the contracts of players over 30. Didier Drogba left the club last summer despite playing a major role in their Champions League success and most of those making football tips suggest Lampard could well follow suit and leave his summer.

The England international will be 35 at the start of the 2013-14 campaign, and as such will surely be entering his last year or two as a professional footballer. Of late Frank Lampard has not been guaranteed a starting berth in the Chelsea line-up, with the talismanic figure rotated over the last two years in and out of the team.

In the Blues’ key fixture with Tottenham on Wednesday night Lampard was left on the bench, with Brazilian pairing Ramires and David Luiz preferred in the centre of the park. With Jon Obi Mikel also an option for the new manager and potentially summer signings in that position too, Lampard’s time at the club looks numbered.

However, Lampard’s worth may well be more than his performances on the pitch. Despite the focus on talented young players, every team needs experience and leadership, especially in the biggest games. Lampard offers this in spades, and would surely be a figure that some of the younger players look up to.

If prodigious talent Nathaniel Chalobah returns to Chelsea from a loan spell at Watford, the youngster would relish the opportunity to learn from someone as experienced as Lampard.

The England man has come out and stated that he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge, however this decision is out of his hands. Frank Lampard will not be short of suitors, and Abramovich should think carefully before dispelling one of the better players of the last generation, and a club legend.