Premier League club Chelsea confirmed today, Thursday, the return of Frank Lampard to the club as temporary coach until the end of the season, following the dismissal of Graham Potter.
The London club's historic top scorer spent 19 months coaching at Stamford Bridge, before being dismissed in January 2021.
"We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge," co-owners Todd Boley and Behdad Iqbali said in a statement on the club's website. "Frank is a Premier League celebrity and a legend at this club."
"As we continue our comprehensive process to appoint a permanent manager, 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 the qualities and attributes we need to push us to the finish line."
Watch Frank Lampard look ahead to #WolChe . https://t.co/qXUZiGYwHZ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023
And Lampard's return – as the club continues its search for a permanent coach to succeed Potter – will at least give a boost to the fans who watched their team struggle despite spending about 300 million pounds ($ 374 million) on bringing in new players last January.
The former midfielder enjoys cult status at Stamford Bridge and many fans were disappointed after he was sacked by former owner Roman Abramovich after a poor run of results.
Lampard's first task will be to prepare the team to visit Wolverhampton the day after tomorrow, Saturday, in the Premier League, before facing Real Madrid in Spain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next Wednesday.
"We will give Frank our full support, as we aim to get the best possible result from all remaining matches," the club added in a statement.
Lampard knows many players from his previous spell with the team but he will have to try and find the right mix of new players, something Potter has struggled to achieve.
Chelsea also gave the 44-year-old coach – who scored 211 goals for the club in all competitions during his 13 trophy-filled years as a player – the opportunity to return to training after he was dismissed from Everton training last January.
