Chelsea [United Kingdom], April 15 : Chelsea's caretaker manager Frank Lampard showed appreciation towards the Blues academy, which has been delivering quality players consistently for the past few years.
The London club has one of the best academy systems in entire Europe and some of the best young talent are currently within the grasp of Lampard.
"I think there is an appreciation of what the Academy gives, from fans who always relate to young players and ownerships that like the fact you are developing players who are either huge assets for you or if they move on, are also assets that you can receive good fees for," he said.
"This club has one of the best academies in certainly the Premier League, and also the world, and that has been for a long time. Neil Bath should take great credit for that," Frank Lampard said while talking to Chelsea.
In recent years, two players have emerged as Top quality talent- Mason Mount and Reece James. Both players have shown the potential to become the best players in football history in their respective positions.
Reece James has fared well in the past few months, on the other hand, Mason Mount had to remain sidelined for some time due to a pelvic injury. The 24-year-old was able to return after seven games out. He marked his return during the game in Madrid. Lampard addressed doubts some have voiced about Mount's continuing impact.
"I am not going to tell anyone what opinion they should have on football but if anyone thinks Mason Mount is not already a top-level player then I am not sure what they are seeing," Lampard declared.
"Form is one thing that people can debate, players are getting debated more now than they ever were in my career, with social media, but from working with Mason, and you can ask myself, you can ask Thomas Tuchel, you can ask Gareth Southgate, you can ask Graham Potter, he is clearly a top player," Lampard concluded.
Chelsea will hope to regain momentum against Real Madrid on Wednesday in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
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