Three youth players who Lampard needs to thrive next season – opinion

Last season,  Frank Lampard showed he was an avid believer in youth players, with two of his stand out attackers, Mason Mount and Harry Wilson both under the age of 22. Mason Mount scored 11 goals and assisted a further six, and Wilson scored 18 goals and assisted a further six, as Derby County reached the Championship play-off final. In the Championship play-off final, five of Derby County’s starting eleven were 22-years-old or younger, a strong show of faith from Lampard in the Rams’ biggest game of the season.

Lampard must continue this show of faith next season, and with no transfer window to replace a number of underperforming stars, he must ensure that if he is appointed he sticks to his principle on implementing youth in his starting line ups. And there are three youngsters who are crucial for Lampard should he continue to go down this route.

Fikayo Timori and Mount are the first of the three youth players who Lampard needs to use next season. Both players enjoyed a year playing under the 41-year-old, so you’d expect them to know Lampard’s style of football inside out. Timori enjoyed a sensational season at the heart of Derby County’s defence paying every single game bar one all season. And as mentioned above, Mount enjoyed a fine goal scoring and assisting season last year.

As well as the Timori and Mount, there is also the small matter of Tammy Abraham. What more can be said about Abraham. The England international scored a mammoth 25 goals for Aston Villa as they clinched promotion back to the Premier League. Being such a huge part of such a crucial achievement shows that Abraham has all the skills to thrive as Chelsea’s striker next season.

As well as the achievements of all three of these youth players, there’s also the issue surrounding the current Chelsea squad.

In defence, everything is far from stable with the club conceding a mass 56 goals in all competitions last season, showing Timori’s introduction would be more than welcome.

With regards to creativity, Eden Hazard finished the top creator in the Premier League assisting 15 goals, with Willian the next best for Chelsea with a meagre seven assists. The statistics for the forwards proved even worse, with the highest goal tally from a Chelsea striker in the Premier League being Gonzalo Higuain, who scored just six goals, despite only joining in January.

Lampard has visible problems at Chelsea, and with the help of these three youth players, some gaping holes can be filled for next season. With the Chelsea senior players failing last season and no transfer window to fix the problems, the emphasis must be placed on the youth to help provide a better future.