Frank Lampard and Dean Smith set to learn THIS WEEK if they will take over Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC with both candidates holding interviews for the vacant role

• Both candidates have interviewed for the vacant Major League Soccer position
• Lampard is looking to land a return to coaching after last working at Chelsea 
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC will decide this week whether to appoint Dean Smith or Frank Lampard as their new manager.

Both candidates are understood to have interviewed well through the recruitment process with former Villa and Leicester boss Smith particularly impressive.

Lampard, who was also considered by Rangers recently, has been looking to secure a return to frontline coaching after acting as caretaker with Chelsea last season.

Charlotte, the Eastern Conference franchise, based in North Carolina, have interviewed the two former Premier League bosses plus candidates with MLS experience.

Billionaire owner David Tepper sacked coach Christian Lattanzio and his assistant Andy Quy in November despite making the play-offs for the first time in the team’s short history.

Charlotte FC will decide this week whether to appoint Dean Smith or Frank Lampard as coach

Smith is said to have interviewed well as he awaits further news over an MLS switch 

Lampard has history in MLS, having played for New York City FC before retiring. 

He last coached Chelsea on an interim basis last year, replacing Graham Potter until the end of the season. Before that, he was Everton boss and helped keep the team in the Premier League in 2022.

Smith, meanwhile, was last at Leicester but was unsuccessful in trying to keep the team in the Premier League after taking over in April with only eight games left to play.

He was coach of Aston Villa for three years, leading the team from the Championship back into the Premier League. 

Charlotte are preparing for their third ever season in Major League Soccer in 2024, looking to build on reaching the playoffs in 2023.

They finished ninth in the Eastern Conference, beating Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 1-0 on the last day of the regular season to advance into the playoffs.

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