Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James have a big career ahead with the Blues. The young duo are currently in training after recovering from their respective injury setbacks and they are likely to make their first-team bow under Lampard before the end of the month.
Speaking in a press conference, Lampard said that both Hudson-Odoi and James need to achieve peak fitness before they are up for selection for the first-team. The Blues legend added that the duo are likely to make a big impact with the club going forward, he told: “Callum’s going to play along with Reece James, so they’ll get minutes which is important now because Callum has been training with us for a while but there are still some issues with the injury itself that we need to make sure he’s OK with. He’ll need to get match fit, so these games are really beneficial for him and Reece James similarly. I’m pleased with that. They’re two young players that are going to be big for this club going forward.”
Hudson-Odoi had an impressive debut campaign with the Blues last term and he managed to contribute five goals and five assists from 23 appearances before suffering a serious Achilles injury. Lampard has already indicated that the attacker would be regarded as an ‘important player’ on his injury comeback but Hudson-Odoi seems prepared to wait until the turn of the year before deciding whether to sign a new contract beyond the summer.
Elsewhere, James has been sidelined with an ankle problem sustained during the summer Toulon tournament with the England Under 20s. While he has yet to make his Blues debut, a section of the Blues supporters are eagerly waiting for the same, considering captain Cesar Azpilicueta has been undoubtedly poor with the performances from right-back this season.