Frank Lampard confirmed as Chelsea caretaker manager until end of season

Frank Lampard has returned to Chelsea to serve as caretaker manager until the end of the season.

The club’s record goalscorer, full-time manager between 2019 and 2021 will be in place while owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Egbali seek a long-term replacement for Graham Potter, sacked on Sunday after a poor run of results concluded with a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Boehly and Eghbali were quoted in a club statement: “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.”

Lampard, set to speak to the press on Friday, was sacked by the previous owner, Roman Abramovich, in January 2021, and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, the German going on to lead the club to a second Champions League title. In turn, last September, Tuchel was sacked by the new ownership after disagreements on recruitment, among other issues.

Having been sacked by Everton in January, who he rescued from relegation last season but could not revive the club’s fortunes, Lampard makes a quick return to management. Chelsea meanwhile, are looking to a long-term appointment with Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona