Chelsea have ‘no plans to bring back’ Avram Grant — report

It was a rumor seemingly based on little more than Avram Grant wading into the Frank Lampard ... “debate”? ... with some unsolicited and vague advice on his Instagram channel — part of an attempt to build his “global consulting on mental strength” brand maybe? — and it didn’t take long for it to be debunked from (more) reliable sources.

Here’s the Telegraph’s Matt Law doing precisely that 24 hours later, relaying information that he’s received on “good authority”.

Of course, just because Chelsea have “no plans” to bring back Grant at this time, it doesn’t mean that his grim specter won’t appear or hang over proceedings for a while yet.

Our brief-tenured director and later head coach, who actually led the team to our first ever Champions League final appearance in 2018 (or was the head coach as the players led the team), probably remains part of the Chelsea-sphere on some level, too. Often described as a friend of Roman Abramovich, Grant’s been involved in many of Chelsea’s efforts in fighting discrimination and Antisemitism over the years, and was one of the club ambassadors for our Final Whistle on Hate charity match at the end of the 2018-19 season.

As much as those efforts are commendable and appreciated, bringing him back in a capacity that deals with the actual football probably would create more drama and distraction than good.

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images