Jose Mourinho is confident that Frank Lampard will one day take his place as Chelsea manager, and has opened the door for the midfielder to join his coaching staff.
The 35-year-old played his final game for the Blues in May and has been heavily linked with a number of clubs, including a possible move to Major League Soccer.
However, Mourinho is adamant that Lampard has what it takes to be a successful coach and has plenty of options to choose from.
"He can be a coach, he can start at the academy, he can start being my assistant at the same time because he is doing his coaching badges, or he can start in a different role," Mourinho told a Yahoo event in his role as their global football ambassador.
"He can decide in this moment whether he wants to start immediately in a coaching role, or if he wants to be an ambassador, representing the club in important places of our life - he can do what he wants.
"For now, he feels that he still wants to play football for another two or three years, and he is happy to do that because it's the thing he loves most apart from his family."
Lampard scored 211 goals during his 13-year stint with the Blues.