Chelsea wonderkid Tino Anjorin has praised Jody Morris and Joe Edwards for preparing him to be ready for the first team.
The 18-year-old has risen through the academy ranks, making his first team debut in the Carabao Cup win over Grimsby Town and then his Premier League bow in the thumping of Everton.
Morris and Edwards are now part of Frank Lampard’s coaching staff, with the former his assistant manager at Derby County and now with the Blues.
Both men have been a big part of the academy through the years, with Morris overseeing one of the best periods of Chelsea’s U18s.
Edwards was also a key man through the years at Cobham, and was working as the development squad head coach before being promoted to the first team in the summer.
The Chelsea academy has been a real success story once again this year, with Billy Gilmour starring for the senior side, and Armando Broja also getting a recent debut.
Ian Maatsen and Tariq Lamptey also made first team appearances, before the latter eventually left the club to Brighton & Hove Albion.
And Anjorin has praised Morris and Edwards for the influence they have had on his career and reaching the first team.
“They demand so much more of you,” Anjorin told the Chelsea website.
“You couldn’t have days when you stroll around. If you didn’t train hard, you didn’t play.
“They prepared you for the mentality of first team football. It can be brutal but it helps massively. With Jody and Joe being there now, it makes it still have that academy feeling. It doesn’t feel like a first team and an academy, it feels like one club.
“I’m always pushing to do more, to be better and try to expand my game. I want to feel ready and be the best I can be. I just need to keep working.
"I want to try and make a statement to Frank, Jody and Joe, and show I belong there.”
