Chelsea have confirmed the return of Frank Lampard for a second stint in charge of the club, just over two years on from his departure from Stamford Bridge.
Having sacked Graham Potter over the weekend, Chelsea are still in talks over a new permanent manager in west London, but do not wish to rush the decision and are happy to wait to get the right man, with Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann both in the frame for the role.
However, they have opted to move on from Bruno, who was in charge for the 0-0 draw with Liverpool, and have turned to Chelsea legend Lampard to help them see out the season.
Frank Lampard returns as Caretaker Manager until the end of the season. 🤝
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023
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.’
He spent a season and a half in the Chelsea hotseat between 2019 and 2021, before being sacked with his side in midtable in a move which ultimately saw his replacement Thomas Tuchel win the Champions League that season.
Lampard enjoyed an excellent career in west London as a player, scoring 211 goals in 648 appearances for the Blues in a stint that spanned 13 seasons, in which time he lifted three Premier League trophies and Chelsea’s first Champions League.
He will be well received by the Chelsea fans, who booed their side and former manager off the pitch at Stamford Bridge during both their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa and their 2-2 draw with Everton.
They are in action again this weekend as they take on Wolves at Molineux, looking to keep their fast-fading hopes of achieving European football next season alive, with the Blues currently 11th and 5 points behind Aston Villa, who occupy a Europa Conference League spot.
They also have a Champions League quarter-final against reigning Champions Real Madrid coming up later in the month.
