The 18-year-old is currently recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered near the end of last season, a year when he made significant strides towards establishing himself in our men’s first team but was also subject to plenty of contract and transfer speculation, primarily concerning a potential move to Bayern Munich.



Our new boss is an admirer of Hudson-Odoi’s potential.



‘I have seen Callum come through and he is a fantastic talent,’ Lampard said. ‘We all know that and I will speak to him and I want him to stay.



‘I know the club want him to stay and for me, he is going to be central for us on the pitch and that is the opportunity that is really in front of him now, certainly from where I am sitting. So that is something I will speak to him about and I hope he stays.



‘When I say he is going to be central to it, there are things as a young player that he will want to improve and there are things through natural development that will improve, so I am not going to say things that are pie in the sky but with his talent, he can be central to this team, he can be central to England, so I am going to say I want to work with him, I want to drive him forward and I want to improve him as a player. He can show, right here at Chelsea, the team he came through the Academy at, that he is going to be a world-class player because I truly believe that.’

