Surprise, surprise!
Frank Lampard granted a debut to a 19-year-old youngster who none of us were aware of. Though the youngster had been in a flurry for Under 18s, he was the least talked about, before the game against Arsenal. And since then, he has been the most chatted personnel of English football.
The 19-year-old midfielder made a scintillating debut last night when he came in as a sub in 59th minute of the game when Chelsea were trailing 1-0. The Englishman made an impact the instance he got into the pitch and late caught the eyes of every Blues fan with a fearless run and a smooth pass to Tammy Abraham which could easily have been a goal.
Player Profile
Date Of Birth: September 30, 2000
Birthplace: Hillingdon, England
Position: Defender
There is plenty to talk about this youngster who has been with Chelsea since he was 7. An academy graduate for a long time now, Lamptey rose up the ranks consistently through Chelsea’s development programme.
A diminutive and tenacious youngster, Lamptey can operate in both, attacking and defensive role, though only on the right. For his versatility on the right side of the pitch, he was given his youth debut in 2016/17 against Manchester City.
In his first season itself, as a scholar, Lamptey was the highest appearance maker for the under 18 squad contributed with 11 assists as Jody Morris’s side secured an unprecedented Quadruple of trophies.
A stellar domestic performance was rewarded with an international call-up in 2018 as the teenager travelled with the rest of his under-19 squad to Finland for European Championship finals.
The young defender who came in as a sub for Fikayo Tomori has been Morris’s favourite for a long time and and it was the latter that suggested Lampard to go with Lamptey in a huge London Derby with heavy stakes.
The youngster signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in 2017 which expires in the season 2019/20. And his recent performance has raised the talks of signing a new contract extension in London.
Lamptey stunned Lampard with his exhilarating performance and the manager praised the teenager beautifully.
He said,” When he drove inside and slipped Tammy in I thought it was a great example of someone coming on and being fearless. Sometimes that’s what you get with youth.”
It was just a glimpse of how good the future of Blues stand. The transition has taken place for a post-LAMPARD era and players like LAMPTEY are just those bits and pieces that will fill the whole club.
