Lampard to make Chelsea return as Ten Hag faces criticism: FootballTransfer recap

Robin Bairner

• 5 Apr 2023 23:30 BST
• 5 min read

What a day it’s been, with the Chelsea soap opera rolling on and taking another incredible twist with the news that Frank Lampard is on the verge of a return to Stamford Bridge.

Lampard, remember, was sacked by the Blues in 2020 with the second worst record of the Roman Abramovich era as a manager while he had Everton flirting with relegation before being sacked there earlier this term.

Before it became apparent that Lampard could take charge at Chelsea until the end of the season, the football transfer news had been dominated by who would be the next permanent manager at Stamford Bridge, with Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann emerging as the leading candidates for the post.

Elsewhere, Manchester United’s summer transfer plans have come a little sharper into focus, though there was something of a distraction for manager Erik ten Hag, who faced unexpected criticism before watching his side record a 1-0 win over Brentford thanks to a single strike from Marcus Rashford.

Here’s the recap of what has been a quite remarkable day.

‘Chelsea like Keeping up with the Kardashians’

Chelsea couldn’t hope to slide news like Lampard’s return under the radar and Twitter was predictably busy – with fans split over the remarkable news.

Potter sends Chelsea foul-mouthed message of support

Graham Potter might have turned the air blue, but it’s clear he s wants Chelsea to still do well.

Messi offered €400m per year contract

Reports broke in the morning that Lionel Messi had been offered a contract worth €400m by Al Hilal. His intention, though, is not to go to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

’Ten Hag made one of the worst decisions in football history

Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr has been well publicised, and while the striker is in nice form in the Saudi Pro League, it has been claimed this is evidence of Ten Hag making a huge mistake.

Meanwhile, Man Utd have been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong once more.

Klopp blocked Lewandowski to Man Utd

Robert Lewandowski has revealed that he would have moved to Manchester United if it hadn’t been for the Liverpool boss.

Haaland agent: ‘Club director thought I was a hooker!’

And finally, Rafaela Pimenta has lifted the lid on the sexism she faced in order to become one of the game’s top agents.And finally, Rafaela Pimenta has lifted the lid on the sexism she faced in order to become one of the game’s top agents.