Chelsea bring Lampard back as interim coach until end of season

Frank Lampard is back at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea rehired their former coach Thursday, appointing the 44-year-old as interim manager until the end of the season. Lampard, who's been out of work since he was fired by Everton in January, will take charge in west London while the Blues continue to search for a permanent successor to Graham Potter, who was fired last week.

"We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club," co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said.

"As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success, and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line."

Ashley Cole, Joe Edwards, and Chris Jones, who all worked with Lampard during his last two managerial spells, will again be part of his staff, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

Lampard is expected to be on the touchline for Chelsea's next Premier League game this weekend at Wolverhampton, the team's second match since Potter was fired. Their first game without Potter, a goalless draw against Liverpool, was overseen by Bruno Saltor.

Lampard - Chelsea's all-time leading scorer - previously coached the Blues for 18 months before he met the same fate as Potter and was sacked for poor results in January 2021. He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who preceded Potter as manager.

"It's a pretty easy decision for me. This is my club. I have a lot of emotions and feelings," Lampard said of his return. "It was a surprise in terms of you never know what decision the club will make. There's been a lot of change in the Premier League this season.

He added: "It's a big challenge, but aren't they all? I have complete sympathy for all managers that lose jobs. I'm ready to put my work into this challenge and take it day by day."

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League table and will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals later this month.

Meanwhile, the Blues began the process of finding Potter's permanent replacement by speaking to former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique, according to The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg.

Enrique joins ex-Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann on Chelsea's list of preferred candidates.

Enrique is expected to fly to London for further discussions after making a positive impression during initial talks with Chelsea officials. The 52-year-old, who won the Champions League in 2015 with Barcelona, has been unemployed since leaving Spain after a disappointing campaign at the 2022 World Cup.

Nagelsmann is also available after he was fired by Bayern Munich last month. The 35-year-old is understood to be a favorite of Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali, but Nagelsmann reportedly wants to wait until the summer before returning to coaching.

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino, Eintracht Frankfurt's Oliver Glasner, and Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim have also been linked with the vacancy at Stamford Bridge.