So far, Frank Lampard’s first season as Chelsea manager has surpassed expectations. A word that you heard a lot this summer whenever anyone talked about Chelsea was “transitional”. In other words, there was a reasonable expectation that Lampard, a relative managerial ingénue who didn’t exactly set the world alight at Derby County last season, might take a while to develop his style, while navigating a pragmatic middle way through the choppy waters of the club’s transfer ban by using the core of senior pros at his disposal alongside the promising youngsters.

But in actual fact, Chelsea’s season hasn’t been transitional at all. The future has arrived. Lampard has gone all-in on Chelsea’s young talent and quickly implemented a fast, energetic, high-pressing style of play that