Former Chelsea star Frank Lampard joins Manchester City in loan move

Frank Lampard: Heading to Manchester before playing for New York City

Manchester City have secured former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard on a six-month loan deal.

The 36-year-old will join up with his new City teammates on Wednesday and will be at the Etihad Stadium until January.

It is a short-term move for Lampard who signed in July for New York City, the MLS club owned by Manchester City and baseball giants New York Yankees.

On Friday it was reported the club was in talks with Lampard's representatives and immediately after City's shoot-out defeat by Olympiakos in the US on Saturday, manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed the move had been completed.

Pellegrini said: "From Wednesday, he will start working with us and play for us until January."

When asked if Lampard was acquired just to improve his fitness for the MLS campaign which begins in March, the Chilean added: "He’s a member of the squad and he will fight for his position.

"He knows we have a good team and we have a lot of games in the Champions League so he's very important for our team."

It had initially been thought the player had agreed an autumn switch to join City's sister side Melbourne City where he would play alongside New York City teammate David Villa to improve his fitness and so this news will be a disappointment to Australian football fans.

It was also confirmed that Lampard would be available for the Premier League showdown with his old club Chelsea on Sunday, September 21.

On this fixture, Pellegrini added: "I will talk about that with him but he is a player for Manchester City and he will play every game that he needs to play."

This may raise some eyebrows at Stamford Bridge, with the England midfielder suggesting last year he would not play for another top-flight club in England.

He said in May 2013: "I can't imagine playing for anyone else after being 12 years at Chelsea. I've got a lot of respect for a lot of other Premier League clubs, particularly the top ones, but I'm not sure I could have done that."

Lampard scored 211 goals in 649 matches for Chelsea, becoming the club's record goalscorer but was released by Chelsea at the end of the season.

Lampard, who signed a two-year deal with New York City on July 24, is still considering his England future.