Lampard 'to begin his EPL managerial career' after Abramovich's assurances

Frank Lampard’s appointment at Chelsea requires the ultimate sanction from the club’s owner Roman Abramovich before the club move on to negotiations with Derby County over appointing their former player in the next week.

There is an expectation that Claude Makelele, their former midfielder, will take some role at the club, possibly helping to manage the many players that Chelsea have out on loan. Petr Cech has also returned to the club in an advisory role that is yet to be defined. The club are currently working on the basis that they will not be able to sign players in the next two windows as per their Fifa transfer ban, which is the subject of appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

As with all decisions at Chelsea, the appointment of Lampard will have to be approved by Abramovich although all negotiations are undertaken by club director Marina Granovskaia.

There is also hope that a new deal can be reached with Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has just one year left on his existing deal and is recovering from an operation on a ruptured Achilles tendon. Up to now the club and the player’s representatives have been a long way apart in terms of the salary expectations.

Should agreement be reached with Lampard then it is expected he will bring with him his assistants Jody Morris and Chris Jones, both of them former Chelsea employees who were part of the Derby staff. The expectation is that there will be a much closer relationship between the first team and the academy buildings at the club’s Cobham training ground with Lampard and Morris having both coached the club’s junior teams in recent years.

Derby have always hoped that Lampard would sign a new deal at the club and relations with their manager remain good, albeit realistic. If there was any chance that he could not reach an agreement with Chelsea there would be no question that he would start next season in charge at Pride Park.