FRANK LAMPARD is walking the walk when it comes to finally giving Chelsea’s younger players a chance.
Never before have so many English players aged 21 or under enjoyed so many Premier League starts at Stamford Bridge.
In fact, not only is the Blues boss beating all previous seasons on this measure – he is beating all of them in the Roman Abramovich era COMBINED.
This campaign has seen homegrown youngsters play at total of 54 times under Lampard, outweighing the 53 occasions counted by The Times since the club was taken over in 2003.
Leading the way is Mason Mount who has been in the line-up 22 times.
Fikayo Tomori comes in at 11 – a number cut short in this instance because he turned 22 in December.
Likewise, Tammy Abraham clocked six league starts before his October birthday.
Making up the final spots are Reece James, with eight, and the youngest of the set, 19-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Not only have the aforementioned quintet earned their chance but the likes of Billy Gilmour, Tino Anjorin, Ian Maatsen, Marc Guehi and the now-sold Tariq Lamptey have appeared off the bench and in the cups.
And that is before we consider Christian Pulisic’s spell in the side, the American 21-year-old starting 12 Premier League matches.
Coach Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge with the remit of guiding Chelsea through their FIFA transfer ban and finally handing ample opportunities to the club’s academy in the meantime.
However the ban’s end in January had seemingly signalled the end of this approach as several big money signings were rumoured.
In fact, none arrived – much to Lampard’s annoyance – and the youthful theme now looks set to continue.
It isn’t all bad, of course, with the youthful Blues occupying fourth place in the table, four points clear of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.
Frank Lampard all but confirms Chelsea will make no signings with transfer window ’95 per cent shut’ and Giroud staying put
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
