Frank Lampard has returned to Chelsea to take over as interim boss until the end of the season.
The club legend is back on familiar territory and will lead his former side while they continue their search for a new permanent head coach following Graham Potter’s sacking on Sunday night.
Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.
‘As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.
‘We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.’
Chelsea have held talks with former Spain and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann, who parted ways with Bayern Munich last month.
But with Boehly and Eghbali committed to carrying out a thorough process in finding a new long-term option, they have now turned to Lampard to see them through until the end of the season.
Lampard, Chelsea’s all-time top scorer, returned to the club as manager in July 2019 having begun his managerial career at Derby County.
His second spell at Stamford Bridge came to an end in January 2021 however with Thomas Tuchel brought into replace him.
Lampard’s most recent managerial role was at Everton, steering the club away from relegation last season but was relieved of his duties at Goodison Park in January.
The 44-year-old will be in the dugout for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolves.
Chelsea are currently languishing in 11th place, 11 points off the top four having been eliminated from the FA Cup at the third round stage.
Their Champions League campaign is still alive however, paired with defending Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
The Blues head to the Spanish capital for the first leg next Wednesday before Carlo Ancelotti’s side come to the capital on 18 April.
MORE : Chelsea close to agreement with Frank Lampard for former manager to return on interim basis
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