Fans at the Stamford Bridge will see another familiar face in the 2019-20 Premier League season as Chelsea on Friday announced the appointment of the club's former midfielder Claude Makelele as the new Young Player Technical Mentor.

"Chelsea legend Claude Makelele today returns to the club as a technical mentor to our young players…The 46-year-old will also work with Chelsea players out on loan, visiting them at their clubs and providing regular match feedback," said the Chelsea FC in an official statement.

Makelele started his professional career at Ligue 1's Nantes at the age of 18. He then moved to Marseille and La Liga's Celta Vigo before joining Real Madrid in 2000 and bringing two La Liga championships and one UEFA Champions league title to Bernabeu.

In 2003, Makelele arrived at the Stamford Bridge and met Jose Mourinho. Together, they helped Chelsea win two Premier League titles and one FA Cup championship while Makelele grew to become the world's best defensive midfielder.

After Chelsea, Makelele returned to France and joined Paris Saint-Germain where he finished the last three years of his career. Having added another two Ligue 1 titles onto his honor list, Makelele retired by the end of the 2009-10 season.

He did not stay away from football after retirement. Instead, Makelele began to work as managing staff of different clubs including assistant manager of PSG, Swansea City and technical director of Monaco. Having collected some experience, he came back to Chelsea and joined his former teammates Frank Lampard (manager), Petr Cech (technical advisor) and Jody Morris (assistant manager).

"I am very happy to come back home. This club gave me a lot and now I want to give back and help the young Chelsea players dreaming of a career in football. I want to use all my experience to help them become professionals in every aspect and I am looking forward to getting started," said Makele.

"We are very pleased to welcome Claude back to Chelsea, where he made such an impact during five excellent years as a player. His long and successful career on the field, added to his winning mentality and experience as a coach in recent years, make him the ideal person to pass on his expertise to our talented youngsters. He will be a valuable asset to both our Academy and first-team coaching staff," added Marina Granovskaia, Chelsea's director.