Frank Lampard was named caretaker manager of Chelsea on Thursday, less than two years after being fired by the Premier League team.

Chelsea's all-time leading scorer Lampard previously led the club from July 2019 to January 2021, when Thomas Tuchel replaced him.

The 44-year-old returned to Stamford Bridge after Tuchel's replacement, Graham Potter, was fired on Sunday, with the club in the Premier League's bottom half.


"We are more than happy to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge," Chelsea co-controlling shareholders Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said.

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"Frank is a club legend and a Premier League Hall of Famer."

"As we move forward with our thorough and exhaustive search for a permanent head coach for the team, we want to give the club and our fans a stable plan for the rest of the season."

According to the statement, Lampard "has all of the atributes and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line," according to the report.

The former England player has been unemployed since January when relegation-threatened Everton fired him after only a year in charge.

Chelsea still has nine league games left this season, beginning with a trip to Wolves on Saturday, followed by the opening leg of their Champions League quarter-final against holders Real Madrid.


Lampard sat in the stands on Tuesday as a Blues team led by caretaker manager Bruno Saltor drew 0-0 with Liverpool to begin the post-Potter era.

Despite spending more than £500 million ($623 million) on new players this season, the West London club is 11th in the rankings, 14 points behind the top four.

Former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique is said to have flown into London on Wednesday to meet with Chelsea executives regarding a full-time post.

Julian Nagelsmann, recently fired by Bayern Munich, is also expected to be a possibility.

Lampard previously managed Chelsea, leading them to the 2020 FA Cup final, which they lost with a thunder 2-1 to Arsenal. He joined the Blues following one season in command of second-tier Derby.