Chelsea’s Under-19s side slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Lille on Wednesday afternoon in the UEFA Youth League with Tariq Lamptey.
A standout performer from the match was Blues right-back Tariq Lamptey and he may be another prodigy to watch 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
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.
Lamptey, like most of the Academy’s best, has been with Chelsea since an early age. He’s a true millennial (born in the year 2000 in London) of Ghanaian descent, and joined the Academy at the under-7 level.
He signed his first professional deal last September when he turned 17. Ostensibly a right back, his diminutive size, exceeding quickness, and tremendous feet could serve him well further forward.
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.
Lampard has been gifted by the introduction of youth players during a transfer ban and the club looks in a really healthy position with so many new faces with great potential.