Chelsea set to name ex-manager as boss until end of the season

Frank Lampard is set to be appointed interim Chelsea manager until the end of the season – just over two years after the club sacked him.

He has been out of a job since January when he was dismissed by Everton after less than a year in charge.

The ex-Chelsea and England midfielder previously managed the Blues from July 2019 until January 2021, when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League and drew 0-0 with Liverpool on Tuesday under Bruno Saltor – with 44-year-old Lampard in attendance at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are 14 points outside the top four, despite having spent more than £550m on new players this season.

They travel to Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday and face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on 12 April.

In his previous managerial spell at the club, Lampard guided Chelsea to the FA Cup final in his first season in charge, having joined from Derby County.

Lampard – the club’s record goalscorer – led them to 44 wins from 84 matches, but picked up five defeats in his last eight league games, as many as in the previous 23.

After being sacked by Chelsea, he was named Everton boss in January 2022 but was sacked eight days shy of his one-year anniversary in the role after nine defeats in 12 Premier League games.