PICTURED: Frank Lampard leaves his house to drive to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground for his first training session after agreeing to return as their interim manager
Frank Lampard is due to be at Chelsea’s Cobham base this morning and will take training later as he closes in on a sensational return to the club.
Lampard – who was pictured leaving his house on Thursday – has been asked to take charge of the Blues who sacked him two years ago on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.
He attended Chelsea’s goalless draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as a guest of the club’s majority shareholder Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea’s record goalscorer and former manager watched a sterile performance which did little to enhance the credentials of the existing caretaker, Bruno Saltor, one of Potter’s assistants who agreed to stay on following his sacking on Sunday.
Chelsea made a breakthrough in negotiations with Lampard on Wednesday afternoon leading to confidence that he could be in charge for Saturday’s Premier League visit to Wolves, which is followed by the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu next Wednesday.
Frank Lampard was pictured leaving his house with him due to be at Chelsea’s Cobham base this morning and take training as he completes a sensational return to the club
Lampard’s return to the Blues comes just over two years after he was dismissed as manager
He should be in charge for Saturday’s league visit to Wolves, which is followed by the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu next Wednesday
Chelsea’s hierarchy, including Todd Boehly, asked Lampard to take charge on a caretaker basis
The 44-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Everton in January after just 12 months in charge, which followed an 18-month spell at Chelsea from July 2019 to January 2021 when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
He left his role at Goodison Park with the Toffees languishing in 19th place and won just 12 of his 44 games in charge of the club.
When at Chelsea, the club legend was appointed while the Blues were under a transfer ban and despite these limitations, helped them to qualify for the Champions League in fourth and reach the FA Cup final.
However, after a heavy spending spree the following summer, Lampard was sacked in January 2021 with the club in ninth place.
Tuchel went on to guide Chelsea to fourth place that season, while they also won the Champions League.
Lampard left the club with a record of 44 wins from 84 games in charge.
Lampard’s surprise return is expected to boost Chelsea fans who have been disillusioned with the club’s lack of progress under Potter for several months, and give him an opportunity to rebuild his reputation with some players he knows well and in a comfortable environment.
Appointing a more experienced caretaker than Saltor also gives Chelsea more time to secure a permanent head coach to take over in the summer, although they are also advancing quickly with that search.
On an extraordinary day on Wednesday, the club held talks with former Spain and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique about taking over in the summer.
Appointing a more experienced caretaker than former Brighton defender Bruno Saltor will provide Chelsea with more time to secure a permanent head coach to take over in the summer
Club legend Lampard previously managed the Blues between July 2019 and January 2021
Former Spain boss Luis Enrique is a strong contender for the permanent job in the summer
Chelsea are also preparing to speak to Julian Nagelsmann (left) and Mauricio Pochettino (right)
Enrique flew to London for discussions in which he is understood to have expressed his desire to take the job, but he is not the only candidate.
Chelsea are also seeking to speak to former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann and former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and will not rush into a decision, which explains the shock move for Lampard.
Chelsea players have become convinced that the next permanent head coach will be either Nagelsmann or Enrique.
There are also concerns among the squad over the possibility of Bruno remaining in charge until the end of the season due to his closeness to Potter.
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