Norwich City hopeful of weekend appointment as Frank Lampard speculation intensifies

Norwich City are refusing to be drawn on reports Chelsea legend Frank Lampard will be their next head coach, but remain hopeful of confirming an appointment over the weekend.

A report from TalkSPORT on Thursday suggested that a deal has been agreed for the 43-year-old to replace Daniel Farke at Carrow Road.

However, the club have insisted to ITV News Anglia that no agreement has been reached yet with any candidate - although there was also no denial that Lampard is a man of interest to them.

Bosses at Norwich remain confident that a new man will be in place in time for the first-team squad's return to training on Tuesday, although it remains to be seen if the Lampard speculation forces them to bring any announcement forward.

If Lampard does take the reins at Carrow Road, he will take over a team currently bottom of the Premier League and five points adrift of safety.

However, they did win their last game at Brentford in what turned out to be Daniel Farke's last game in charge.

Lampard, who won 106 caps for England as a player, has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in January.

Before that, his first job in management was at Derby County, who reached the Championship play-off final under his leadership.

He is known for working with young players, and helped bring the likes of Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi into the first team set-up at Stamford Bridge.

He also gave a debut to midfielder Billy Gilmour who is currently on a season-long loan from Chelsea at Norwich.

If his appointment is confirmed, Lampard's first game in charge of the Canaries will be against Southampton at Carrow Road.

There could also be a tasty match-up against his former England colleague Steven Gerrard next month, with Aston Villa set to visit Norwich on December 14.