It's been a decent start to the season for Chelsea and Frank Lampard.
Given his inexperience coupled with a transfer ban for the Blues, there was always going to be teething problems right at the beginning of the club legend's tenure.
But as things stand right now, Chelsea are into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, are a point off the top four in the Premier League and are up and running in the Champions League.
Along the way there have been some standout performers.
Most notably Jorginho, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori - who has earned a call-up to the senior England squad - and current leading scorer Tammy Abraham.
However, none of the quartet are Chelsea's best player so far this season.
That honour goes to midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
Via OptaPro, the Croatia international is statistically the best player in the Blues team following the first seven games of the new Premier League campaign.
To determine a team's best player, those with a minimum of 360 minutes under their belts are considered and is 'based on their contribution to the overall probability of their team scoring a goal'.
From the image above, Kovacic's Possession Value is just under 0.5 per 90 minutes.
Kovacic didn't enjoy the best of seasons at Chelsea last term, but was still able to secure a permanent move from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.
And he revealed the key difference between Lampard and former head coach Maurizio Sarri.
"He gives me more freedom and I can take the ball and go forward. I feel good," Kovacic said in August. "A good connection with the coach and all the team. I am a Chelsea player now so I feel better about that. Last year was only a loan. I feel better and more confident than last year.
"It makes me feel more relaxed as last year was difficult and I needed to prove myself. Last year was also good, not perfect, this year I started well and I hope to continue like that.
"I am missing some part of my game and I can improve and get better, but I think it will come for sure.
"He gives us more freedom to play, more creativity. We can change positions. We are aggressive. We are doing well but it is only one month with the coach so we can improve.
"Last season was also a good connection with the coach. It was also a good year last year. The connection is good. The fans love him and so do the players. He is young and he understands us. We have a good connection with the coach."
