London: Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is expected to complete his move to New York City FC next week, according to British media reports on Saturday.
Lampard has been strongly linked with a transfer to the Major League Soccer team since leaving Chelsea when his contract expired at the start of June.
The 36-year-old England international received a host of proposals from across the world, but it is believed he has decided to accept an offer to move to New York, a new MLS franchise part-owned by Manchester City owner Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
It is understood Lampard was highly impressed with the club’s vision and he is expected to sign a contract with the franchise next week.
The New York club was formed in May 2013, but will not start competing in the American league until March 2015.
As a result, Lampard could spend some time with New York’s sister club Melbourne City FC over the next few months.
Lampard is currently taking a short holiday with his fiancee Christine Bleakley.
During his 13 years at Chelsea, Lampard became the club’s all-time record goal scorer and won three Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League, plus the 2013 Europa League and four FA Cups.
The midfielder was part of Roy Hodgson’s 23-man World Cup squad, but he only made one appearance in England’s draw against Costa Rica.
The former West Ham star has said he will take a few weeks to decide whether he wants to continue playing for England.
Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp will not order Rio Ferdinand to end his media commitments but is convinced the centre half will focus squarely on Queens Park Rangers for the next 12 months.
Redknapp believes 35-year-old Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles, is motivated by a desire to prove he can still perform at the top after losing his place at Manchester United.
“What we’re paying him here isn’t going to change his life,” said the QPR boss. “He can walk away, do anything he wants. He’s on the A-team at the BBC, up there with Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer at the World Cup final ... he’s got a great future if he wants in television.
“I wouldn’t want him on TV at 5.30pm on a Saturday night, after coming off 10 minutes from the end. There was a player a few years ago who kept turning up on the radio on 606 and I thought, ‘How on earth has he got there?’”
Ferdinand rejected overtures from Tottenham and West Ham, as well as lucrative offers to play abroad, and he started life at QPR with a double training session yesterday. The former England and Manchester United captain will still work as an ambassador for BT Sport but Redknapp insisted: “Rio is going to concentrate on his football. He’s a focused boy. He’s genuine. He’s got other business interests but he won’t come here unless he’s sure. Why mug yourself off when you’ve been a top player?
“He wants to come here and play football. Otherwise he would have walked away to be an ambassador in Indonesia or earn a fortune in Qatar. He said, ‘No, I want to play football’. He’s here to play.”