Ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard appointed Everton manager

Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will return to the Premier League after being named Everton’s new manager, the club have announced.

The 43-year-old replaces Rafa Benitez, who was sacked earlier this month. He will be joined by Joe Edwards as assistant manager and Paul Clement as first-team coach.

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Lampard said: “It is a huge honor for me to represent and manage a club of the size and tradition of Everton Football Club. I really want to start. After talking to the owner, president and board, I really felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to achieve it.

“You can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. It will be extremely important. As a team – the level of competition the Premier League brings and the position we have in the table – we certainly need it. I think Everton are a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see. The first thing they want is to fight and desire and that should always be our baseline.

“My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. We will try to do our job and I know the fans will be there to support us. »

Lampard began his managerial career at Derby County in 2018, reaching the Championship playoff final in his only season at the club, before leaving to replace Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.

The former England midfielder guided the club to Champions League qualification in his first season in charge, as well as the FA Cup final, although he was restricted by a transfer ban for the first half of the campaign.

Lampard started his second season with a strengthened squad after a £220million spending spree in the 2020 summer transfer window, but was unable to maintain Chelsea’s form, which has resulted in his dismissal last January. His replacement, Thomas Tuchel, went on to win the Champions League.

For Everton, Lampard represents the seventh permanent manager since David Moyes’ 11-year reign ended in 2013 when he took over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Wayne Rooney was among other candidates believed to take over at Goodison Park, but the former Everton player – and Lampard’s England team-mate – said on Friday he had turned down the opportunity for an interview, opting to stay in Derby County.

Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said: “I am really delighted that Frank has joined us. He is an impressive young man and off the pitch. He played at the highest level of the game and has football in his blood. He has impressed all of us greatly during the extensive interview process and we are all ready to give him our full support as he looks to give the team an immediate boost. »

Lampard enjoyed a stellar playing career as a midfielder and was best known for his 13 seasons at Chelsea, with whom he won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, as well as league crowns. Champions League and Europa League.

He is the fifth top scorer in Premier League history with 177 goals and third in appearances with 609 and played for West Ham United and Manchester City either side of his time at Chelsea, before ending his playing career in MLS with New York. CF.

Lampard’s first match with his new side will be against Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round on February 5. (LIVE broadcast in the US on ESPN+).

Everton have won once in the league since September and sit 16th in the Premier League, just four points above the relegation zone.