Frank Lampard has been appointed as a Chelsea FC caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Former Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique and former Bayern Munich manager, Julian Nagelsmann, are still favourites to take over and have already held talks with the Londoners.
Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: “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 first took charge of Chelsea in July 2019 and his spell lasted until 25 January 2021 when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel. “It was an easy decision for me because this is my club,” Lampard said on his return.
“I’m also a very practical person, I’ve been on a different path since I left Chelsea but to come back as I’ve been asked and be back here with a belief that I can help until the end of the season is really great. I’m delighted to get the opportunity and I’m thankful.
“I’m confident in myself and I’ve a good understanding of the squad – I’ve worked with many of them before – the training ground, the stadium and the fans.
“I will do my upmost in this period to give the fans what they want, with all my heart. The explanation of my role speaks for itself but I’m not getting ahead of myself. I want to do the job to the best of my ability and in a way that can impact the club. I want to do the best I possibly can until the end of the season and after that, we’ll see what happens.”