Lampard close to being appointed as next Chelsea manager

Derby County is ready to receive a £4m compensation fee from Chelsea for Frank Lampard.

The Chelsea legend is poised to replace Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge after the Blues have reached an agreement with Juventus.

And he took a giant step to be chosen, with Derby resigned to losing Lampard after just one season.

But former captain Dennis Wise believes his former club is taking a big risk.

"I'm surprised if you're being honest," Wise told talkSPORT.

"He did a good job putting Derby in the play-off. But getting to the final of the play-off and not climbing is not good enough. I think it would be good if he
stayed there.

"The expectation in Derby is to try to get them. The expectation at Chelsea is to enter the Champions League and win trophies against the best. This is a big leap.

"It's a huge risk. But that's what Frank says. He's going to take that risk. He's going to want to fix it. I do not think it's correct. I think he should be a bit
patient. "

Chelsea will officially say goodbye to Maurizio Sarri this weekend after finally reaching a compensation agreement with Juventus worth at least 5 million pounds,
 with increases approaching 10 million pounds.

And that will trigger a move to Lampard, who is expected to bring former Chelsea coach Jody Morris with him.

Chelsea are willing to lend some of their young players to the Derby next season as a candy to help pave the way for an agreement.

Lampard, 40, is expected to work closely with former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who is being scaled back in a role that has yet to be clearly defined.

But currently there are no plans to bring Claude Makelele, another Blues guy, even though he has stepped down as coach of the Belgian Eupen team yesterday.

Lampard spent 13 years as a player in West London, winning three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Europa League and the Champions League.

He is also the all-time top scorer at Chelsea and still maintains a good relationship with fans, a major factor in a season when some Blues fans have turned against
 Sarri.

Lampard is also someone the owner Roman Abramovich has always trusted and his work history with young players is appealing to the club that is facing a ban on transferring two windows.

Juventus boss Max Allegri was a candidate but has been away for a year, while Wolves' Nuno Espirito Santo and Watford's Javi Gracia have also been considered.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Higuain seems about to follow Sarri to Juventus, with his Chelsea loan unlikely to be permanent.

Higuain's brother agent, Nicolas, said: "He wants to end his career at Juve."