Frank Lampard Emerge Chelsea’s Caretaker For 2023 Season
On Thursday, Frank Lampard returned to Chelsea as caretaker manager until the season’s conclusion, just over 2 years since being fired by the Premier League club.
Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer Lampard previously managed the club from July 2019 until January 2021, before being changed by Thomas Tuchel.
The 44-year-old returned to Stamford Bridge after Tuchel’s successor Graham Potter was fired on Sunday, only with club with in bottom half of the Premier League.
Chelsea co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali issued a statement saying, “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge.”
“Frank is a Legend at this club and a Premier League Hall of Famer.”
“As we move forward with our thorough and exhaustive search for a perpetual head coach, we are committed to offering the club and our fans with both a clear and stable plan for the rest of the season.”
Frank Lampard “has all of the traits and attributes we need to push us to the finish line,” according to the statement.
The former Chelsea midfielder was already unemployed since January, when he was fired by relegation-threatened Everton after only a year in charge.
Chelsea still has nine league games left this season, beginning with a trip to Wolves on Saturday, followed by the initial leg of their Champions League quarter-final against holders Real Madrid.
Frank Lampard sat in the stands on Tuesday as a Blues team led by caretaker manager Bruno Saltor drew 0-0 with Liverpool to begin the post-Potter era.
Despite spending more than £500 million ($623 million) on new players this season, the west London club is 11th in the table, 14 points behind the top four.
Former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique is said to have flown into London on Wednesday to meet with Chelsea officials about a full-time job.
Julian Nagelsmann, recently fired by Bayern Munich, is also thought to be a contender.
Frank Lampard previously managed Chelsea, leading them to the 2020 FA Cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Arsenal. He entered the Blues after one season as manager of second-tier Derby.
