Newcastle United’s Premier League rivals make shock manager decision as Frank Lampard returns to Chelsea

Lampard replaces Graham Potter in the dugout at Stamford Bridge and is expected to take charge of the Blues for their game with Wolves at Molineux on Saturday. Lampard will become the third manager during new owner Todd Boehly’s reign at the club.

During his first stint at Stamford Bridge, Lampard guided Chelsea to a top-four finish despite a transfer embargo being placed on the club. However, he was sacked midway through his second season, before being replaced by Thomas Tuchel. At Everton though, he lasted less than a year in charge and couldn’t prevent the Toffees from being dragged into another relegation battle.

Following his appointment as interim manager, Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali said: “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.

“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.

“We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”

Newcastle United face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season.