Frank Lampard’s appointment as Chelsea manager moved a step closer today after Derby gave him permission to miss the start of pre-season training to finalise a switch to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard has been Chelsea’s first choice to replace Maurizio Sarri ever since the Italian told the club he wanted to leave for Juventus at the end of May.
Derby, who appointed Lampard in May 2018, gave Chelsea permission to speak to the former England midfielder last Tuesday and a three-year deal, worth an initial £4million a year, is in place. However, the move has taken longer than expected to be finalised and, with Derby reporting back for pre-season training today, Lampard was facing the awkward situation of having to take the session.
But Derby have confirmed that the 41-year-old has been allowed to stay away so that his move back to Chelsea, where he scored a club record 211 goals between 2001-14, can be completed.
While Chelsea made a formal approach to Derby just six days ago, Standard Sport understands that talks have been held with Lampard on more than one occasion before that.
One of the reasons for the delay has been due to negotiations over the backroom staff Lampard wants to take with him, which includes Jody Morris, Chris Jones and Shay Given.
Chelsea, who will have to pay £4m in compensation to bring back Lampard, want him in place for when Chelsea’s senior players who were not on international duty this summer report back for training later this week.
