Roman Abramovich has planted a ticking timebomb at Chelsea – with Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole in the immediate blast zone.
By Dave Kidd
Hardline Rom has made it clear to his table-toppers, who won 2-1 at Arsenal yesterday, that no player in his 30s will be offered longer than a one-year deal – and that puts the future of the two England men, plus skipper John Terry, in doubt.
Lampard, 34, and Cole, 31, are out of contract next summer and Rom’s directive means they are free to talk to foreign clubs as early as January. Abramovich’s stance, which has already led to the exit of Champions League final hero Didier Drogba, means controversial Terry, 31, will not be offered a longer deal when his contract expires in 2014.
Lamps and Cole would prefer to stay at Chelsea if they were offered longer-term security, although neither will be short on offers.
Paris St-Germain’s former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will be able to follow up his interest in Cole by speaking to the player and offering a pre-contract agreement in January.
And Lampard will be free in the New Year to talk to Los Angeles Galaxy, who are willing to offer him a two-year deal to move to Major League Soccer – as exclusively revealed in People Sport in June.
Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo has urged the Blues hierarchy to tie both players to new contracts but no agreement is likely to be reached before January, when any player in the last year of a contract is free to speak to clubs from overseas.
Cole, who is set to win his 100th England cap next month, believes he still has several years ahead of him at the highest level and would only consider options from serious Champions League contenders – with moneybags French club PSG an option, along with Real Madrid.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is also monitoring Cole’s situation, although the left-back’s fraught relationship with Rio Ferdinand makes it unlikely that both players could be at Old Trafford.
Lampard, who will skipper England against San Marino next week, is believed to fancy the chance to end his career in the States, although he has also been on Ancelotti’s radar at PSG. He was again left out of Di Matteo’s starting line-up for yesterday’s win at the Emirates and believes this could be his last season at Stamford Bridge.
