Chelsea’s academy has been developed into one of the best in England during the last decade and it looks like the first-team are now starting to feel the benefits of that.
There are plenty of rising stars that are breaking into the senior squad at Stamford Bridge, with manager Frank Lampard deserving credit for his faith in so many of them.
Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi are the star names who worked their way into the senior fold in recent years, but this season there has been a brand new wave of players to come in from the academy.
Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all come into the first-team team to become key players for Chelsea, while Reece James and Billy Gilmour are two more to get senior minutes this term.
Lampard has been gifted by the introduction of youth players during a transfer ban and the club look in a really healthy position with so many new faces with great potential.
It may be a little greedy, but are there anymore that should potentially be on Lampard’s radar?
Chelsea’s Under-19s side slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Lille on Wednesday afternoon in the UEFA Youth League, but they dominated the game for large spells and there finishing let them down.
A standout performer from the match was Blues right-back Tariq Lamptey and he may be another prodigy to listen out for this season.
He is an attack-minded full-back that was excellent against Lille in flying forward and has express pace to burn, but is yet to make his senior debut.
The 19-year-old has been a regular in Chelsea’s Under-23s side this campaign and is a highly-rated talent that usually catches the eye.
Lamptey has great athleticism and speed as a full-back, which his why he can play further forward in a wide role too if required.
Chelsea’s right-back position looks blocked at senior level for the immediate future, with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and rising star James battling it out for the area.
It will be intriguing to see how Lamptey develops in the next few months and the club should potentially look at loaning him out in the second half of the season, something that has worked extremely well for others.
Credit: The Chelsea Chronicle