Chelsea are set to appoint Frank Lampard as the club’s new manager within the next 48 hours.
The Chelsea legend is set for a return to Stamford Bridge following Maurizio Sarri’s departure for Juventus, having impressed in his first season in management by leading Derby County to the Championship play-off final.
Lampard scored a club-record 211 goals for Chelsea during a glittering 13-year career in West London, winning three Premier League titles and the Champions League amongst 11 major honours.
The former England international was installed as the odds-on favourite to replace Sarri following the Italian’s return to Serie A, with talkSPORT reporting the 41-year-old will take Jody Morris, a former Chelsea teammate and current Derby assistant, back to Stamford Bridge with him.
Lampard will face a major challenge with Chelsea facing a two-window transfer ban, however, his ability to work with young players during his sole season at Pride Park is said to have impressed the Blues hierarchy.
Chelsea youngsters Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori played under Lampard at Derby, with the club hopeful he will be able to nurture the best talent from an academy which has enjoyed much success at youth level in recent seasons.
Derby were desperate to retain the services of Lampard who signed a three-year deal following his appointment last summer, however, the club have accepted that the lure of a return to Chelsea was too difficult to resist and a compensation package is close to being agreed.
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