Lampard the latest victim of Chelsea's managerial merry-go-round `

Chelsea today announced the sacking of their manager Frank Lampard, with Thomas Tuchel set to be appointed in the coming days.

Lampard's Chelsea side, who currently sit 9th in the Premier League table have just two wins in their last eight outings leading to a dramatic slide down the table. The news came this morning as Chelsea released an official statement saying that 'performances have not met the club's expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement'.

This sacking has come as a shock to many, as Lampard, a club legend and fan favourite was heavily backed in the summer transfer window spending over £200 million. However a number of the signings have failed to hit the ground running, not adjusting to the physicality and pace of the league. Most notably Timo Werner, who only has one goal in his last twelve appearances for the club.

Are the marquee signings really to blame?

Yes, his team are in poor form and yes, his summer signings haven't hit the ground running, but this should not result in the sack for a manager who is just five points off the top four.

It has become a recurring theme in recent seasons that big name signings have taken time to adjust to what is widely seen as the toughest league in the world. Stars such as Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne had to even leave the Premier league for a couple of seasons before returning to have successful spells at Liverpool and Man City respectively.

This trend cannot be exemplified any clearer than that of Son Heung Min. In his first season at Spurs in 2015, he had only 5 goals and assists (G/A) in 28 appearances. This is the same stage that Chelsea's summer signings are currently at and in comparison Timo Werner already has 8 G/A after only 19 games.

If you carry on looking at Son's stats though, his numbers have increased dramatically since then, notching up over 18 G/A every season and becoming one of the most respected players in the league.

Stats and trends such as these show that although Chelsea's signings are struggling for form on the face of things, this is a very frequent trend over the last decade and therefore these players should not be discounted quite yet.

I believe that if Lampard had been given the time to allow these players to adapt to the physicality of the league, Chelsea could have been competing for the title again within the next couple of years.

What Tuchel can expect

Thomas Tuchel, who is likely to be appointed later today, has inherited a squad with an abundance of potential within it. I believe Tuchel will reap the rewards of Lampard's hard work, with players such as Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount having developed significantly during Lampard's stint at the club. This was exemplified at the weekend by Mount's assured captaincy in the FA Cup 4th round and the hat trick which Tammy Abraham scored.

The squad which Lampard has assembled over the past two seasons has quite possibly the most depth out of any team in the league . This depth coupled with the potential world class ability of the likes of Werner, Havertz and Pulisic will be an extremely exciting prospect for Tuchel.

Even though it's a sour day for Chelsea fans, in the long run it could be a blessing in disguise for Lampard. The toxicity of Chelsea seems to sit at the heart of the club with its owner Roman Abramovich. Eight managers have now been and gone since 2010, but this could be seen to be the harshest yet.

What next for Lampard?

Although this is a huge blow to Lampard, who was a popular figure within the fanbase, I don't see this as too much of a blot on his managerial resumé. Roman Abramovich is well known for his ruthless streak when it comes to managers, so Frank shouldn't see this sacking as a step backwards in his career.

Lampard at 42, has only been in the managerial game for three seasons and still has plenty of opportunities to look ahead to in the future. Come the beginning of next season almost any club in the premier league would still take him as their manager and his pedigree from his career will also help him in this regard.

Although this is probably the last thing on the FA's mind right now I can't help but feel that Lampard fits the bill perfectly for the position of England manager in the future. Yes Southgate is doing a great job with England at the moment, but he is only penned in a contract till the 2022 World Cup.

Come the end of Southgate's tenure or maybe sometime a little longer along the line I can see Lampard fitting into the England system perfectly. He has a ruthlessness about him, he'd be well respected by the players and come the heat of a World Cup knockout match I could see him thriving under the pressure.