Just like Manchester United, Chelsea is a team with a very young manager and even younger superstars. Frank Lampard has had an exceptional season so far. FA Cup victory over Arsenal at the weekend could give him “A grade” in his first managerial season in English top-flight.
Here we look at three young superstars who have come through and aided the manager to deliver a fantastic season.
Reece James – 20
Reece James was already set to have a big season at Stamford Bridge this term. With a transfer ban in place, Lampard was expected to deploy the youngster at the back to utilize his pace and strength. James has featured 35 times this season, out of which 24 times has been in Premier League alone.
He has two goals and two assists to his name as well. He has 86% successful pass rate and has made 1.5 tackles per game. Chelsea has a lot of areas to strengthen going into the transfer market, but the right-back spot isn’t one of them. Reece James has a big future, and he deserves to be Chelsea’s first-choice next season.
Billy Gilmour – 19
It won’t be wrong if we say that Billy Gilmour has been the hottest finding for Frank Lampard this season. It was not until the second half of the season when footballing world came to know about this gem. Billy has featured in just 11 games owing to the injury faced towards the end of the season.
At one point in time, the youngster even forced Jorginho to settle for the place on the bench through his exceptional performances. The most impressive part of Billy’s game is his sense of operating in the midfield. He can sit back in front of the defense and spread the ball to wide areas for the players to create opportunities. A big season awaits the 19-year old, and he has the full backing of Frank Lampard ahead of it.
Mason Mount – 21
His first full season at Chelsea, big expectation and he delivered every bit on it. Out of 38 Premier League games, Mason Mount featured in 37 games and started 32 of them. This amount of game-time clearly states the level of confidence and trust Frank Lampard has on this youngster.
Started as number 10, he has been versatile enough to switch to the wings as well. In premier league alone, he has scored 7 goals and assisted 5 times. With Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner arriving, it will be interesting to see how the manager utilizes all his young guns in the coming season.
