Everton appoints Frank Lampard as their new manager on a two-and-a-half-year deal to replace Rafael Benitez, who was fired recently.
After Everton held a final round of talks with their candidates on Friday, Lampard emerged as the frontrunner, and he was formally offered the job on Saturday.
Lampard’s assistant manager will be Paul Clement, who previously managed Swansea City and Derby County.
The Toffees also spoke to Vitor Pereira, who exclusively told Sky Sports News on Wednesday that he wanted the job, and Duncan Ferguson, who was put in charge as a caretaker manager after Benitez’s departure.
Farhad Moshiri, the owner of Everton, flew into London to meet with all three contenders.
Lampard had been unemployed since Chelsea fired him in January 2021, when the club was ninth in the Premier League.
Lampard spent a season with Derby County, which culminated in a play-off final defeat to Aston Villa, prior to his 18-month stay at Chelsea, when he led them to an FA Cup final and a top-four finish.
Everton had been looking for a replacement for Benitez, who was fired earlier this month following a 2-1 defeat at Norwich.
For less than seven months, the former Liverpool manager has been in command at Goodison Park.
Everton are now 16th in the Premier League, four points above the relegation zone, after winning one and drawing three of their last 14 games.
Is Frank Lampard capable of assisting Everton?
We’re not sure about this because he failed to produce anything spectacular at Chelsea before being dismissed and replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
In his first season in charge as Manager, he led Chelsea to fourth place and the FA Cup final, but owner Roman Abramovich fired him after a run of five losses in eight games.
Lampard had the lowest points-per-game average of any permanent Chelsea manager in the Premier League, with 1.67.
Only Andre Villas-Boas (47.5 percent) has a worse victory record than Lampard (52.4 percent) among permanent Chelsea managers during the Abramovich era.
The Toffees are 16th in the Premier League, with 19 points from 20 games, and have already suffered three Premier League defeats in 2022.
The final nail in the coffin of long-disliked manager Rafa Benitez was a 2-1 loss to struggling Norwich, which came just days after the club let France star Lucas Digne to join Aston Villa.
Duncan Ferguson was appointed as Everton’s interim manager, but he was unable to lead the club to a much-needed victory, as Aston Villa won 1-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Digne providing the assist.
