Chelsea cannot announce the appointment of Frank Lampard as their new manager until Derby County have found a replacement for the Pride Park hotseat, The Daily Express have reported.

The Stamford Bridge club are looking to appoint a new manager after Maurizio Sarri returned to Italy to take over at Italian champions Juventus, after just a year in charge of The Blues.

It is thought that Lampard, who is Chelsea's all time leading scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances in all competitions for the club, will soon be confirmed as Sarri's replacement, but that official confirmation will not be given until Derby have found a successor for Lampard.

Lampard enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in management with Derby last season, guiding them to the Championship play-off final, where they ultimately missed out on promotion to the Premier League following a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Villa assistant John Terry and Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer had both been linked with a move to Pride Park, but the pair have now signed new deals to remain in their current roles.

The verdict

It seems increasingly likely that Frank Lampard will be returning to Stamford Bridge next season.

That is no doubt a blow for Derby given what Lampard achieved at Pride Park last season, but this at least does relieve some of the pressure on them.

This appears to give Derby the time that they will need to find a suitable replacement for Lampard, which given the importance of the decision, will be a bit of welcome news for the Rams.

It also suggests that there remains a good relationship between the two clubs, and Derby could benefit from that in the loan market in the coming window, as they did last season with the temporary signings of Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount, who were influential in the club's success throughout the campaign.