Lampard: 'Whatever happens, in some capacity I will be at Chelsea'

Frank Lampard will be back at Stamford Bridge, but whether it's as a player, a coach, or a supporter remains to be seen.

On Saturday, while appearing on Sky Sports' Soccer AM alongside John Terry, Lampard said it's only a matter of time before he's back at Chelsea, insisting he'll return to the Blues "in some capacity" and will make a decision regarding his future in January.

Lampard, a free agent after parting ways with New York City FC in November, is yet to hang up his cleats at 38 years of age, and speculation regarding the English midfielder's future intensified Thursday, when he dropped in on the Blues' training session. Antonio Conte revealed that, although the two didn't talk about coaching, the native of Romford, England wants to continue playing.

Related - Conte: Lampard wants to continue playing

"I'm still waiting for the five-year contract to come through from Chelsea, they haven't called yet!" Lampard exclaimed. "We used to get those easily! Myself and John are Chelsea are through and through. Whatever happens, in some capacity I will be at Chelsea, whether that's with my season ticket watching them, but I don't know.

"I will be in very close contact, whether I have a role, that's not all in my hands so I can't go any further than that. I am very relaxed about it, which is a nice place to be. I'm not kind of eager that the end of my career is coming and thinking, 'What's going to happen now?' I'm relaxed and if the right thing comes along, then I'll take it.

"Obviously Chelsea, I would love that, but it doesn't always work that way. I've taken this Christmas to enjoy family, a couple of beers and an extra turkey and I'll make a decision in January whether I carry on playing - I have a few options - or finish and move on to whatever the next thing will be."

Through 13 years at Chelsea, Lampard tallied 648 appearances and 211 goals.