Lampard’s Chelsea remains a young team, learning and improving all the time. Only Aston Villa and West Brom have an average age younger than the Blues this term, while our haul of 1,791 minutes to players aged 21 or under is more than any other club in the league.
Despite the outside perception that additional recruitment this summer would squeeze the opportunities for the homegrown players who burst onto the scene so spectacularly in Lampard’s first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, the boss never doubted their resilience and ability to adapt.
‘I read some articles and heard some people saying “that’ll be the end of it and you won’t see these young boys again” but I always had a strong belief that the young players who have come through the Academy would compete again this year,’ he stated.
‘Look at the performances of Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Mason Mount. Fikayo Tomori is staying patient at the minute, Billy Gilmour is back fit – I have absolutely no problem in throwing these young boys in.
Let’