After only one year in management with Derby County in the Championship, Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has signed a three-year contract to become the new Blues boss.
Lampard returns to the club where he played 648 times and scored more than 200 goals. Chelsea fans will hope that Lampard’s appointment will rejuvenate the whole club after a somewhat toxic season under Maurizio Sarri.
"I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach," Lampard said after the news was confirmed on Thursday morning.
Lampard takes over with Chelsea serving a one-year transfer ban, despite the recent permanent signing of Mateo Kovacic.
He has outlined his ambitions to the Chelsea board of promoting youth, with youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek key to his plans.
Lampard added: "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."
Derby prematurely announced their manager's departure on their website, writing: "Frank Lampard Leaves for Chelsea", before quickly deleting the announcement on Wednesday night.
The Rams had given Lampard an extended window on Monday to continue negotiations with his former club, who are expected to pay significant compensation for Lampard’s services.
Lampard enjoyed a fruitful season at Derby, playing exciting football and establishing a close relationship with fans. The new Chelsea boss has taken Jody Morris and Chris Jones with him, completing a hat-trick of coaching transfers from Pride Park to Stamford bridge.
Derby County Executive Chairman, Mel Morris CBE, 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."
Derby are now expected to appoint former Barcelona and PSV player, Phillip Cocu as the man to replace Lampard. Cocu has vast experience for his age, managing PSV and more recently Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
His style of fast-paced attacking football should fit Derby well going into a new season.
