Chelsea appoint Frank Lampard as head coach until end of season

Frank Lampard has been appointed Chelsea manager until the end of the season – just over two years after he was sacked by the club.

The 44-year-old, the club’s record goalscorer, takes over following Graham Potter’s dismissal on Sunday.

Lampard, who has been out of a job since he was dismissed by Everton in January, previously managed the Blues from July 2019 until January 2021.

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League and are away to Wolves on Saturday.

They are 14 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, despite having spent more than £550m on new players this season, but are through to the Champions League quarter-finals and face Real Madrid in the first leg on Wednesday.

Co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said former midfielder Lampard will take charge while they continue an “exhaustive process” to find a permanent manager.

“We want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season,” a statement said.

“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.”

In his previous managerial spell at Chelsea, Lampard took over with the club under a transfer embargo but guided them to a fourth-place finish and the FA Cup final in his first season in charge.

After spending £200m the following summer on seven major signings, including current players Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz, he could not replicate the early promise and was sacked by previous owner Roman Abramovich with the club ninth in the Premier League, having won only two of their previous eight games.

He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who led Chelsea to victory in the Champions League final four months later.

After being sacked by Chelsea, Lampard was named Everton boss in January 2022.

He guided them to safety from relegation last season but was removed eight days shy of his one-year anniversary in the role after nine defeats in 12 Premier League games this campaign.

Lampard was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday for Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool, when Bruno Saltor was in charge.

Source: bbc