Chelsea owner Todd Boehly 'turned to James Corden for advice' over next manager

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly sought advice from English actor, comedian and television host James Corden before hiring Frank Lampard as interim manager.

The Blues moved quickly to replace Graham Potter this week, even if it was on a temporary basis, as the search for a long-term appointment continues at Stamford Bridge.

In fact, just four days after Potter was relieved of his duties after just six months in charge, club legend Frank Lampard was named interim boss until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Lampard was in the Molineux dugout on Saturday as the Blues slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Wolves, and after the full-time whistle, some interesting details surrounding his hire emerged.

It turns out James Corden played a 'surprise role' in the appointment of Lampard this week after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly approached him for advice.

Corden and Boehly have become friends, according to The Sun, who suggest Corden's idea of hiring Lampard 'got the nod' from the American billionaire.

The report goes on to claim that Corden and Lampard are also mates after featuring on Sky show A League of Their Own.

Shortly after Lampard was hired on Thursday, Boehly, who reportedly has a net worth in the region of £3.6 billion, explained his reasons for hiring the former Chelsea midfielder.

Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly with James Corden last night dining.

Via Metro UK pic.twitter.com/UL85zub47I

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In a statement, both Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: "We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.

"As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.

"We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.

"We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week.

"We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games."

Lampard, meanwhile, is keen to show what he is all about in the coming weeks. In fact, he refused to rule out becoming Chelsea's permanent coach when asked whether the role was strictly until the end of the campaign.

He said: "No, but I think the role and the explanation speaks for itself in the period I am here for.

“I’m not getting anywhere ahead of myself. I want to do the best possible role and impact the club in the best way. After that, we will see what happens.

“I don’t need answers to that point. I have taken that under the conditions.

“My only focus can be this. The feeling I have from the club, rightly so, is that they want to do a process to find the right person to take the club forward whoever that might be.

“That is absolutely their prerogative. Maybe that is why I am here. Of course, it was a surprise, you never know the decision a club is going to make.

“But it is not for me to decide the club’s process and how they go about it.

“Now it is up to me to do well. After that, of course, it may mean I end up saying thank you very much, and at that point I will be very happy and say I have given everything and hopefully it is positive.”