Written by Anthony Williams
Chelsea fans have missed their midfield talisman Frank Lampard for most of the season whilst he has been suffering a number of injury problems.
The England man is now 32-years-old and is approaching the end of his career for club and country, so it is something of a worry that there doesn’t seem to be a suitable replacement in the wings as yet.
Here are five midfield stars who could take up Lampard’s mantle:
1. Miralem Pjanic: the Bosnian playmaker has been linked with Chelsea and Inter Milan recently, but his club Lyon have been quick to reject any links with his exit. But he could definitely be a player worth testing the French club’s resolve for as he’s a promising talent and at just 20-years-old already had a fair share of Champions League experience.
It was over the last season that Pjanic made a name for himself after an impressive in which he scored 11 goals and made 10 assists, so he definitely has an eye for goal. Could he be the perfect man to replace Lampard?
2. Ganso: I have spoken about the 21-year-old Brazilian before here. Billed as the ‘next Kaka’ the playmaker could be of interest to Carlo Ancelotti, who enjoyed a rich spell with Kaka at AC Milan, where he was once considered the best player in the world.
The Santos youngster is considered alongside his team mate and one time Chelsea target Neymar as the crown jewels of Brazil’s next generation of young talent. Ganso has only made one appearance for his country so far, but has been suffering a knee injury which has kept him out of late. He was named as one of the seven backup players for the World Cup 2010 Brazilian national team squad.