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Frank Lampard completes fairy tale return to become Chelsea manager as club legend signs three-year deal
FRANK LAMPARD has finally completed his fairy tale return to Stamford Bridge after being named the new Chelsea head coach this morning.
Lampard, 41, has signed a three-year deal, worth around £5.5million annually, to succeed Maurizio Sarri in charge of the Blues.
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Chelsea agreed personal terms with the club legend after Derby County gave them permission to speak with their manager after weeks of speculation.
Lampard, who is the club's record goalscorer, will take Jody Morris with him from the Rams as his assistant manager, as well as Chris Jones as first-team coach.
He was pictured at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday afternoon, where it is believed he signed his contract.
Owner Roman Abramovich held talks with the former midfielder while he was on holiday in St Tropez last month before giving the green light to the appointment.
Lampard told the Chelsea website: "I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach.
"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."
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Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: "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."
Derby County owner Mel Morris also offered Lampard his "best wishes" after he departed Pride Park.
Morris said: "Frank, along with Jody and Chris, leave with our best wishes and I sincerely hope they have success at Chelsea.
"I thoroughly enjoyed working with Frank and while we would have loved his time at Derby County to continue, to build on the positives we saw last season, the opportunity for him to return to Chelsea as their Head Coach was huge.
"As a club, we have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Chelsea recently and would like that to continue moving forward."
Lampard added: "I would like to say a special thank you to Mel Morris, the players, staff and everyone who is associated with Derby County.
"It has been a fantastic experience for me, and I feel privileged to have managed such a prestigious club.
"Most of all, I want to thank the fans who supported me and the team from the day I arrived in the City.
"I wish everyone the best of luck going forward."
I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea... I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started
Frank Lampard
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Lampard now faces the challenge of trying to deliver a top four finish in the Premier League next season despite being unable to sign any new players because of a transfer embargo.
Chelsea have lost their best player in Eden Hazard, who finally got his wish by securing a £130million move to Real Madrid in June.
Despite the transfer ban, the Blues were able to sign midfielder Mateo Kovacic - who spent last season on loan in SW6 - on a deal worth around £45m.
But Lampard will be expected to bring several of the club's academy prospects into the first-team squad and still keep the side challenging at the top end of the table.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has signed a new £150,000-a-week deal, and Callum Hudson-Odoi both started to make the breakthrough under Sarri last season before suffering injuries at the end of the campaign.
Talented winger Hudson-Odoi, 18, is also expected to sign a new five-year deal in the coming days.
Neither is expected to be fit for the start of the new campaign, but Mason Mount, 20, and 21-year-old Fikayo Tomori - who both excelled on loan under Lampard at Derby - may get big chances to impress.
Reece James, 19, is another who shone out on loan at Wigan Athletic last year and the right-back looks to be ready for elevation to the first team squad as back-up to Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea will also be boosted by new arrival Christian Pulisic - with the American sealing his £58m move from Borussia Dortmund in January before the transfer ban came into force.
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Lampard's work will begin straight away.
Most of the Chelsea squad are expected to arrive back for pre-season training on Friday, ahead of a trip to the Republic of Ireland next week.
Lampard's first matches will be in Dublin, against Bohemians (July 10) and St Patrick's Athletic (July 13), before the squad heads to Japan to face Kawasaki Frontale (July 19) and Barcelona (July 23)
After returning to the UK to face Reading (July 28), Lampard and the Blues will head out to Austria and Germany for matches against RB Salzburg (July 31) and Borussia Monchengladbach (August 3).
Lampard's first Premier League game in charge will be a massive test - a visit to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on August 11.
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The appointment will see Lampard take charge of the club he served with such distinction as a player during his career.
The former England midfielder moved to Stamford Bridge in an £11m deal from London rivals West Ham in June 20o1 and went on to spend 13 years with the club before leaving to join Manchester City in 2014.
His exploits as a goalscoring midfielder saw him become Chelsea's all-time record scorer with 211 goals - 177 of those in the Premier League.
He is the only midfielder to score more than 120 Premier League goals and is also fourth on the all-time Premier League assists chart with 102.
Lampard helped the club to three Premier League titles and a Champions League success in 2013 as he established himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the Blues.
Overall, he won 11 major trophies with Chelsea.
He was also crowned FWA Footballer of the Year in 2005 - the first season when the club won the title - and in the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions.
Lampard made 648 appearances for the London club, ranking him fourth in the list of Chelsea appearances behind Ron Harris, Peter Bonetti and John Terry.
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