Coventry City are bracing for a battle to retain the services of Frank Lampard this summer following their return to the Premier League, as admitted by club owner Doug King. The former England midfielder, who previously managed Derby County, Chelsea, and Everton, has guided the Sky Blues back to the top flight for the first time since 2001 and also secured the Championship title.
Lampard has one year remaining on his contract with Coventry and is expected to be offered a new deal. However, King acknowledges that the 47-year-old will attract interest from other clubs.
The upcoming summer could see significant managerial changes across the Premier League. Bournemouth have announced that Marco Rose will replace Andoni Iraola at the end of the season, while Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner is set to depart. Lampard is among the bookmakers' favorites to replace Liam Rosenior at Chelsea. Additionally, there is ongoing uncertainty regarding the long-term future of Newcastle United's Eddie Howe.
Speaking to the BBC, King remarked: "You can see how emotionally connected he is with the city, you can see what it meant to him to get promotion and then the title, and I think he's found a happy place at the moment."
"It doesn't mean there's not going to be some staggering bid for him in the summer, and he'll have to make his choices, because he's shown his credentials as a high quality head coach, but I'm not going to comment on that, I can't control it."
"I just think he's happy, I'm happy, everybody's happy, we've just got smiles on our faces and we don't worry about what may or may not happen for the head coach."
King also indicated that Coventry are unlikely to engage in extravagant spending during the transfer window. Clubs promoted from the second tier often struggle to survive in their first Premier League season and frequently pay high fees and wages in an attempt to do so. However, Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this month that King is likely to adopt a more cautious approach.
He stated: "People spend money very badly at times, I would say what we do is we look for value."
"A very expensive footballer might still be value, there are a lot of footballers who are very expensive but who are not value."
"We will do what we've got to do, but don't associate staying in the league and being very successful just with how much money you throw out of the door, I think that would be a mistake."
