Frank Lampard has hinted at building his Chelsea team around Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The big news coming out of Stamford Bridge on Thursday is that the England international has put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract, thus ending speculation regarding his future.
There had been talk of a move to Bayern Munich, but Blues fans can rest easy in the knowledge that Hudson-Odoi will be at the club for the long-term.
Hudson-Odoi is closing in on a return to first-team action having missed the final month of last season as well as the first seven games across all competitions of the current campaign through injury.
Once fully fit he can expect to be an important player under Lampard.
"I have seen Callum come through and he's a fantastic talent," said Lampard. "He is going to be central for us on the pitch and that is the opportunity in front of him now.
"There are things as a young player that he will want to improve but he can be central to this team and for England.
"I want to work with him, I want to drive him forward and I want to improve him as a player.
"Callum can show, right here at Chelsea, the club he came through the Academy at, that he is going to be a world-class player because I truly believe that."
The good news for Lampard's plan is that Hudson-Odoi seems ready to embrace the challenge.
"It’s an amazing feeling," Hudson-Odoi said. "It's been a long wait but it's done now and I'm really happy about that.
"I've been a Chelsea player since I was eight and this is the right club for me to be at.
"I want to lift as many trophies as possible, win as many games as possible and contribute to as many goals as I can as well. As a team, we just want to work hard to achieve the best results we can.
"I'm delighted everything has been agreed and now I'm just looking forward to properly getting back."
