Frank
Lampard says Callum Hudson-Odoi is central to Chelsea's future and that he
wants to work with the 18-year-old to nurture his talent.
Lampard, who was officially unveiled as Chelsea's new head coach on
Thursday, will have a focus on developing young players in the squad due in
part to the club's transfer ban.
This week, 23-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek signed a new five-year deal, and
Lampard is hoping that Hudson-Odoi - who is the subject of continued
interest from Bayern Munich - will follow suit.
"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."
Lampard has vowed not to promise anything he can't deliver to Hudson-Odoi,
who is currently recovering from an Achilles injury suffered at the end of
last season, and hopes the player will be patient in his development.
"I will pay a lot of care and attention to Callum, because of the
contractual position he is in, to try to get him to stay and not with any
lies or any false statements to him," Lampard explained.
"I know what a player he is and I think he can be an incredible player and
he has improvement to make and I want to work with him to do it, but for
that he needs to stay longer at the club.
"That of course goes to a decision between him and the club and I am not
involved in the financial negotiations, but I can certainly tell him how I
see it and I see him being a huge player for us.
"Before Callum got injured you could certainly see opportunities he was
having to play. He was playing well and showing more than glimpses of the
player that he is, not just for Chelsea but for England, and that is what he
needs to know.
"I remember being 17, 18 or 19, and I wasn't as good as Callum at that age
without a doubt, but I was frustrated because Harry Redknapp didn't play me
[at West Ham] and I wanted to play, and that is part of breaking through
into the first team.
"I remember seeing Nigel Quashie playing for QPR. Jody Morris was playing
for Chelsea, and I wasn't at West Ham at that age. Those things if you have
the right attitude are good competition. I don't think at 18 you should get
too worried, I can say that now I am 41 and I can look back and say it was
probably good for me to see that because it drove me on.
"I believe Callum has all the attributes to play and make similar statements
on the world scene as we are seeing with [Jadon] Sancho and other great
players around the world, and that will be when I speak to him what I will
tell him he can do at Chelsea."
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