NEW YORK – Frank Lampard is coming to Yankee Stadium this weekend.
Just not to play.
The midfielder is taking advantage of Manchester City’s international break to head to New York for a three-day visit, which will include taking in the New York City FC-Sporting Kansas City match Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
“I have not yet spoken to him about his coming over, but I’m certain we’ll get to spend some time together,” New York City FC coach Jason Kreis said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s really exciting, obviously, that he’s going to take that time and make the effort to come over and see us this weekend when he has a break. We’ll look forward to spending some time with him and also getting him around the guys some more. I think that’s important.”
Lampard signed with City Football Group last summer with the expectation that he would join NYCFC in January after completing a six-month stint at sister club Manchester City. His stay in England, of course, was extended, with Lampard now set to start his tenure in New York in July.
Reports out of England last week suggested that with Manchester City eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, Lampard might come to NYCFC to play sooner than expected, but Kreis said Wednesday that the timeline has not changed.
“It’s certainly not anything that’s being discussed. We are approaching this in the exact same way since, I think, January, when we found out for sure he was staying until the summer,” Kreis said. “We need to prepare ourselves and be ready for him to join us in the summer. We’re still very excited about that prospect, but we’re not going to speculate on anything happening sooner than that.”
When Lampard does come, there’s no doubt in the mind of the team's other Designated Player, forward David Villa, that the quality of the club will improve.
“As soon as we have him here, that would be ideal, because he is an excellent player, a world-class player, a real legend,” Villa said. “He’s going to make us even better when he comes around.”
Fellow center midfielder Mix Diskerud is also looking forward to reuniting with Lampard on and off the field.
“We met him in Manchester in preseason. He’s a great guy. I can’t wait to get to play with him,” Diskerud said. “He is obviously a high-class player who can contribute a lot of things. I can’t wait for him to come. When we were in Manchester, I told him to take it easy, the midfield will be safe. I’ll take care of it until you come.”
