Chelsea have appointed Frank Lampard as their caretaker manager until the end of the season. While the search for a permanent replacement for Graham Potter is ongoing, bringing their record goal-scorer in for their remaining nine matches of their Premier League campaign and the Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid buys time for Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and the rest of their consortium to assess the market.
The 44-year-old was previously Chelsea manager between 2019 and 2021 before being sacked by Roman Abramovich in favor of Thomas Tuchel, who would go on to take that team to the Champions League title. Such an achievement would be all the more remarkable if Lampard replicated it with a team currently lying in 11th place in the Premier League table, sacking both Tuchel and Potter in a disastrous season that has seen them score just 29 goals in as many Premier League games.
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Lampard was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night to see Chelsea draw 0-0 with Liverpool, a match that was caretaker Bruno Saltor’s first experience of managing a game at any level. Both the Spaniard and the club hierarchy agreed that a situation in which he was managing on a day-to-day basis was not beneficial for him nor his players.
Chelsea’s brief statement did not confirm whether Lampard will be in charge for the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday nor the makeup of his backroom staff, which is expected to include Ashley Cole and Joe Edwards, both of whom have worked with him in the past. No clarification was offered over the status of Bruno or those among Potter’s staff who remained in place after the head coach’s sacking.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” said Boehly and Eghbali. “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.”
Appointing one of Chelsea’s greatest-ever players will doubtless curry favor with a fanbase that turned vociferously on Potter, a reaction that was said to have surprised Boehly and Eghbali. In his first season in charge, Lampard guided a club operating under a transfer ban to a fourth-placed finish and an FA Cup Final, blooding the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount in the first team. In his second campaign, the former England international struggled to build a cohesive team around summer signings Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech. He was ultimately sacked with Chelsea ninth in the table.
A year later Lampard took charge at Everton, keeping his club four points clear of the relegation zone. He would go on to be sacked on Jan. 23 of this year after a 2-0 loss to West Ham.
Meanwhile, Luis Enrique flew into London on Wednesday for talks with the Chelsea hierarchy as the Blues look to secure a long term appointment in the summer. The former Barcelona boss has emerged as one of the front runners to take the vacancy on a permanent basis with Julian Nagelsmann also in the mix. For the time being Lampard is not in the frame for a more permanent position.