Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Paul Merson believes Frank Lampard won’t be under immense pressure from the fans, should he take up the managerial duties with the club. The 40-year-old has recently emerged as the outright favourite to become the new Blues boss following the departure of Maurizio Sarri to Juventus.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Merson said that the current transfer ban should prove an advantage for Lampard, given it may help him to ease into the job. He added that the former England international should have a good knowledge regarding some of the young players in the setup and they may get the chance to impress under his tutelage.

He said: "He's done a bit of an apprenticeship at Derby. They did great to get into the Championship play-off final. But it's not like you're bringing in a manager who's going to be dealing with £70, 80, 90m transfer deals with the pressure on him to bring in players, especially when you haven't been in that situation before and you're talking about inexperience. There are a lot more of those kids at Chelsea and it is more of a chance to give them a chance instead of bringing players in and the crowd asking what they brought him in for."

At present, Derby have stressed that there has been no contact from the Blues for Lampard but reports suggest that an approach should be imminent with the club looking to offer the new manager with sufficient time to settle with the squad. Should the Blues strike a deal, they would have to pay a compensation fee of around £4m to the Rams.

Chelsea are currently banned from making signings for two transfer windows by FIFA but they have appealed for the same at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Blues are currently awaiting the hearing date for the sanction before applying for a potential freeze.