Chelsea have officially announced the appointment of Frank Lampard, who leaves his post at Derby County to take over from Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
In what has been a long long quest, Chelsea have formally announced their success in appointing Frank Lampard as their new manager. The club legend vacates his Derby County post after only a season with the Rams and is set to lead Chelsea into the 2019-20 season, having agreed a three-year contract with his former club.
Frank Lampard underlined his happiness as he spoke to the media.
“I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach. 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.”
The news does come as bitter-sweet to many fans, with Gianfranco Zola vacating his post as the assistant manager. The Italian served under Maurizio Sarri for a year and was pencilled in to leave once Lampard was announced.
The announcement read, “Everybody at Chelsea would like to thank Gianfranco for his contribution to a successful season at the Bridge and we wish him the very best of luck in the next chapter of his career. He will of course always be welcome back.”
In his maiden season as the manager at Derby County, Frank Lampard took the Rams to the Championship Playoffs, missing the promotion by a whisker as his team was beaten by Aston Villa in the final. Despite the inability to gain promotion, Lampard was lauded for his ability to get the best out of the squad at hand and improve the tactical playstyle of the players.
With Chelsea facing a transfer ban, the Blues would hope Lampard can continue to do the same, albeit at Stamford Bridge. The squad will have two familiar faces in the form of Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, who were both regulars under Lampard when on loan at Derby County.
It will be interesting to see how Lampard tackles with the problem areas at hand, the most pressing one being the daunting prospect of somehow plugging the void left by Eden Hazard.
