Chelsea midfield maestro Frank Lampard pointed out this season may be his last for the West London club and is linked with various Premier League sides and clubs abroad in a possible move in January after the shocking revelation that he has not been offered a contract extension by The Blues that fueled speculation about his possible transfer as he is in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge and could leave for free at the end of the season.

Chelsea to leave Frank Lampard in lurch

Frank Lampard is desperate for a January move from Chelsea, after spending over a decade with English giants, frustrated of not being provided enough first team action for some time now and believes he can continue to make a contribution at the top level in the Premier League for at least the next two years.

Recently the newly appointed Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez axed him from the side in the semi-final of the FIFA event while he was expected to captain Chelsea. Benitez clearly wants to tactically move in a direction that doesn’t include Lampard and the latest snub looks like proving the final straw for the midfielder of his illustrious career when Benitez noted that he didn’t think Lampard would be offered new contracts this summer. This angered Lampard and he was quick to apprise the media of his possible move out.

“It is not for me to decide on this one. It’s up to the club. Whatever happens, I have had a great time at Chelsea. I am determined to play a few more years and see what pans out in the near future.”, he told the press.

England midfielder is weighing up a move to Queens Park Rangers, where the manager and his uncle Harry Redknapp is ready to offer him a two-and-a-half-year contract, if he does not land a new contract with Chelsea.

Lampard may also join along his former England captain David Beckham as Los Angeles Galaxy are all set to make a bid for Lampard and are prepared to make Lampard the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer and have been pleasing his representatives for some time now.

An LA source admitted: “We want the best players from around the world and Frank is top of our list.

“Getting Frank would send a message around the world that the MLS is serious.”

China has become an attractive destination for football stars approaching the end of their careers and Lampard’s future may lie in the Chinese Super League with a potential move to Guizhou Renhe, who confirmed that they’re in talks with him and Shanghai Shenhua, where his former Chelsea teammates Drogba and Anelka enjoy a delightful pay of $300,000 a week.

He is also linked to French side Juventus who have expressed their interest in him and second division side Monaco where former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri wants to reunite with England midfielder. Even Arsenal is lining up a shock move for 34 year Lampard. However, a move to France or Arsenal doesn’t seem to be on the cards.

Before Benitez it was Villas-Boas who undermined his status at Stamford Bridge as a key figure in the Chelsea camp who chose to use him as an impact ­player coming off the bench for big games rather than guaranteeing him first-team football. Soon the pattern developed and Lampard would either miss the big games or come off the bench in case of trouble but makes the matches Chelsea are ­expected to win.

Even after scoring in the crucial matches to float Chelsea home Lampard has faced constant indignity of being dropped to bench and it’s his selection criteria that has set the alarm bells ringing for him, and given him the reasons to think his days are numbered at West London club.

Chelsea midfielder has expressed that he only finds and stays in his best form when he’s ­playing regularly and in a fair way is likely to end his illustrious 11 year old career with the Blues.

A move to any of these clubs would only be a drawback for his desire to carry on playing for England and winning another seven national caps to make the magic 100.

Three times Chelsea Player of The Year Frank Lampard, from his debut in 2001, was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at Chelsea and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 and a domestic double in 2007.

He helped Chelsea to regain EPL title in 2009-2010, scoring 22 league goals and 17 assists captained Chelsea to their first Champions League title last season.

Tags: Champions League, Chelsea, EPL, FIFA, Frank Lampard, Premier League, Rafa Benitez