It has been revealed who will join Frank Lampard in the Chelsea dugout, with the 44-year-old closing in on a return to Stamford Bridge. Graham Potter was sacked on Sunday evening following defeat to Aston Villa as the Blues slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table.
The west London outfit have been heavily linked with the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique. But, with Todd Boehly eager to replace Bruno Saltor ahead of the weekend, it appears that Lampard will be drafted in to see out the remainder of the season while further discussions proceed behind the scenes.
football.london understands that Chelsea have reached an agreement in principle to appoint the Blues hero as interim head coach until end of season. Previously when Lampard replaced Maurizio Sarri in 2019, he pulled together a five-man coaching team which consisted of Jody Morris, his assistant, Eddie Newton, Chris Jones, Joe Edwards and Henrique Hilario.
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However, according to The Athletic, only three backroom staff are in place to join Lampard on the training pitches at Cobham, being Joe Edwards, Chris Jones and Ashley Cole. The former Everton boss appointed the latter as a first-team coach during his reign at Goodison Park.
Meanwhile, Morris is currently head coach at Swindon in League Two and Newton is a director at Turkish outfit Basaksehir. With Lampard set to return, The Athletic add that co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley are still on the hunt for a permanent successor to Potter.
According to Mario Melchiot, Lampard's return has always been a possibility – speaking to talkSPORT, the former Chelsea defender insisted that the Englishman has what it takes to come back stronger.
"If you look at a player like Frank, he didn’t achieve the glory that he had by going down after a disappointment," Melchiot said. "So why would I expect him to not come back? He has the ability, the quality and the confidence to get himself back on the road.
"He just needs to take a break, spend some time with his family and get his head around it – just like you do as a footballer when you are down. And then he comes back and goes again at it! Things don’t come your way the easy way, and there are always going to be bumps in the way. You just have to overcome them."
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