Frank Lampard has joined Manchester City ahead of his debut season with affiliate club New York City.

Lampard was recently unveiled as New York City FC’s fourth signing. After meetings with manager Manuel Pellegrini at City’s New York headquarters, it was decided that Frank will train and play with the Premier League champions ahead of teaming up with Jason Kreis’ New York City set-up for their inaugural season.

He will train with his Manchester City colleagues this morning for the first time and will be registered to the Club and be available for selection.

He said: “Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition for New York City.

“It has been an amazing few days for me since the unveiling in Brooklyn and everyone connected with both clubs has been fantastic to me. This is a new chapter of my career and I’m really excited about the experience. 

“I met Manuel and some of the players in New York and I’m looking forward to getting into training and making a contribution for Manchester City ahead of my move over to New York.”

New York City FC Sporting Director, Claudio Reyna, said: “This is the perfect opportunity for Frank. He is in great shape following the World Cup, and training and playing with our colleagues in Manchester will enable to Frank to be fit and ready for our inaugural training camp.

“Everyone has been hugely impressed with Frank’s positivity, and ‘m sure he will bring a lot to City during his stint with the club. We wish him well for his spell with Manchester City and look forward to welcoming him back to New York in the New Year.”

Manchester City manager Pellegrini was delighted to welcome Frank into his squad. He said: “Frank is a world class midfielder and this is an opportunity which works perfectly for everyone, the player, Manchester City, and New York City.

“I’m looking forward to working with him and integrating him into our squad. New York have made a fantastic signing by recruiting Frank, and I’m really pleased that we’ll be able to have him with us for the first half of our season and help prepare him for his new challenge.”

Lampard is available for all of Manchester City’s domestic and European games, taking up squad number 18.