Frank Lampard open to extending New York City FC spell

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The former Chelsea and England midfielder’s contract with the MLS club is set to expire at the end of the 2016 season.

Frank Lampard has revealed to New York City FC’s official website that he would be open to extending his spell with the club beyond the end of the 2016 season rather than hanging up his boots.

Lampard, 38, saw injuries ruin his first 10 months with NYCFC after arriving in MLS last summer following a spell with sister club Manchester City, but he has since turned around his fortunes in remarkable fashion.

After missing the opening 12 games of the season with a calf problem, the former Chelsea and England midfielder has returned to score 12 goals in 15 starts, winning the league’s Player of the Month award for July in the process while also helping Patrick Vieira’s men clinch their first-ever playoff appearance.

The Designated Player had previously been expected to retire when his contract expires in December, but having proven that he still has a lot to offer at the MLS level over recent months, he now admits that he is willing to sit down with the club and discuss a potential return for 2017.

Asked in a Q&A session whether he would like to play another season at Yankee Stadium, Lampard told nycfc.com: “Yes, I hope so, but I don’t know at the moment. Since I’ve got to the latter stages of my career, I’ve kind of taken every year as it comes.

“What I can say now is that I’m enjoying every moment I’m playing here since I’ve been fit – the team’s playing well, the atmosphere around the club, the staff behind the scenes… The fans follow us, support us, and we’ve been getting pretty good results, so if that continues and the club still wants me and the fans want me then I’d be delighted to carry on playing.

“In the short term, let’s look to try to be successful this year and then we’ll see what happens next.”

NYCFC now sit joint-first in the Eastern Conference with Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls on 48 points going into their final three regular season games, but it remains to be seen whether Lampard will be able to feature in any of those matches.

The Chelsea legend missed Friday night’s 4-1 home win over the Chicago Fire after suffering a calf strain in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with FC Dallas, and while the injury is not as serious as the one that kept him out for the first few months of the campaign, he is still expected to be sidelined for the next three

However, with an international break coming up in early October, there is a chance he could return in time to play against D.C. United and Columbus Crew SC, respectively, before the playoffs get underway.

“I think the club made a statement this week saying the injury was three to four weeks,” Lampard added to nycfc.com. “But hopefully that’s the maximum for it. It’s a different injury to the one I suffered earlier in the year, which kept me out for a long time with a lot of complications.

“This hopefully is a simple, less serious injury. I’m already back running in the water and getting treatment. I’ll do everything I can to be back as soon as possible and hopefully miss as few as games as possible to be ready for the run-in and the playoffs.”