Lampard agrees three-year contract to become Chelsea manager

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard (Courtesy)

Frank Lampard has agreed a three-year deal to become the new manager of Chelsea, and will be confirmed as the club's new boss in the next 48 hours.

The former Blues midfielder and his Derby County assistant Jody Morris - another former Chelsea player - were excused from the first day of pre-season training by Rams owner Mel Morris on Monday, paving the way for his much-anticipated move back down south to Stamford Bridge.

Club legend Lampard is Chelsea's all-time record goalscorer with 211 strikes, and won 11 major trophies during his time at the club including three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2012.

He will replace Maurizio Sarri in the role after the Italian walked out on the club after just one season in charge to join Juventus.

Sarri guided Chelsea to the Europa League title during his only campaign, but he wasn't an overly popular figure with Chelsea supporters.

In appointing Lampard, his first ever full-time English manager, Blues owner Roman Abramovich has secured a clear favourite with the fans, but the inexperienced 41-year-old will face a tough task in only his second season as a boss, with the club banned from making any transfers until the summer of 2020.

Lampard is expected to earn around £4.5million a year, while Derby - who are eyeing the former PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahce manager Philip Cocu as their new boss - will be due around £4million in compensation.

The delay in the move had surprised fans, but Rams owner Morris put it down to Lampard being away on holiday in France.

“You could say they’ve had plenty of time," he said. "But in fairness Frank was away on vacation and he didn’t come back until Friday, so I think that has been a big factor.”

First-team coach Chris Jones will also be joining Lampard and Morris at Chelsea.