Chelsea appoint Frank Lampard: Blues gamble on club legend as new manager

Lampard has left Derby County after one season in charge to return to the club where he made his name as a player

Chelsea have appointed Frank Lampard as their new head coach on a three-year contract, handing the club legend his dream job in only the second year of his management career.

The appointment marks something of a gamble for both Chelsea and the inexperienced Lampard, who leaves Derby County after one season in charge of the Championship side.

“I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach,” Lampard said upon being unveiled by the club.

“Everyone knows my love for this club and the history we have shared, however, my sole focus is on the job in hand and preparing for the season ahead. I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started.”

In unveiling the 41-year-old as manager, Chelsea paid a glowing tribute to his history at Stamford Bridge with a lengthy statement detailing everything he achieved during his 13 years as a player there.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank back to Chelsea as head coach. Frank possesses fantastic knowledge and understanding of the club and last season, he demonstrated he is one of the most talented young coaches in the game.

“After 13 years with us as a player, where he became a club legend and our record goalscorer, we believe this is the perfect time for him to return and are delighted he has done so. We will do everything we can to ensure he has all the support required to be a huge success.”

It is understood Lampard was initially hesitant about taking a role which has seen 13 different managers pass through over the past decade in various guises, and sought assurances from owner Roman Abramovich that he would be given time to get to grips with the job.

He takes over at a challenging time for Chelsea, who are operating under a two-window transfer ban imposed by Uefa and must rebuild after the recent departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.

For Chelsea’s part, it is a risky move to replace Maurizio Sarri – who delivered a top-four finish and the Europe League before joining Juventus – with a manager who has only one season of coaching experience, taking Derby to the play-off final where they were beaten by Aston Villa, 2-1.

Lampard has been appointed Chelsea manager on a three-year deal (www.chelseafc.com)

Lampard stuck by a high-energy possession game through the campaign despite some costly individual mistakes by players learning his methods, and overachieved with a squad heavily reliant on loan players.

He brought impressive performances out of youngsters like Mason Mount, who was on loan from Chelsea and will now link up with Lampard again at Stamford Bridge, and he is expected to turn to the club’s deep pool of youth talent during the ban on registering new players.

Jody Morris, his assistant at Derby, and Chris Jones, the first-team coach, will also make the move from Pride Park to west London. Derby will receive around £4m in compensation for a manager who still had two years remaining on a three-year contract.

Lampard leaves Derby County after a year with the Rams (AP)

Lampard will also work alongside his former goalkeeper at Chelsea, Petr Cech, who was appointed in a technical director role which will see him act as a link between manager and boardroom.

Lampard retired from playing in 2016 having spent 13 years of his career at Stamford Bridge, where he won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, one Europa League and one Champions League, and became the club’s leading goalscorer.

He remains a hugely popular figure at Chelsea and will receive plenty of patience from supporters, and will hope that the positive relationship he built with Abramovich during his playing days will afford him the same from the club’s hierarchy.