Derby County owner Mel Morris has confirmed that Chelsea are yet to approach the club to speak to Frank Lampard, amid speculation that he is the favourite to become the next manager at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard is the favourite to succeed Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea, after the Italian left the club to join Juventus after just one season in charge.

The former Chelsea midfielder impressed in his first season as a manager and was able to guide Derby to the Championship play-off final.

Derby are keen to keep hold of Lampard amid interest from Chelsea and have opened talks with their manager over extending his contract.

The Daily Mail reported today that Lampard is set for face-to-face talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich later this week to discuss his move to Stamford Bridge.

However, Derby chairman Mel Morris is adamant that Chelsea are yet to approach the Rams over his availability and has insisted that he is continuing with his plans for next season.

"We have made it very clear to everyone, but most importantly to Frank, that we want to retain Frank for the long term," Morris told BBC Sport.

"If Chelsea want to hire Frank, then it is in their gift to make an offer in pursuit of that.

"In the meantime, we will continue to put our best foot forward to continue with our plans for the coming season and work with Frank for him to know how much he is wanted by everyone associated with the club."

Lampard won 13 major trophies for Chelsea as a player, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League and is the club's all-time record goalscorer.

The Verdict

Chelsea will obviously need to make an approach to Derby to speak to Lampard and if that happens, then I think it's a major concern for the Rams.

Lampard did a fantastic job in his first season as a manager and Derby will be desperate to keep hold of him.

I'm not so sure that a move to Chelsea would be the best thing for Lampard at this stage of his career, but you can't blame him if he decides to take the job, given his personal links to the club.