New Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said he has belief that the young players in his squad can go on to emulate Eden Hazard at the club.
The winger left the Blues for Real Madrid following seven years at Stamford Bridge in which he established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League.
Lampard admitted Hazard will be tough to replace, but reiterated his desire to improve the young players at Chelsea so that one day they may reach the same level as the Belgian.
Lampard said: "He (Hazard) left on a very good note as a Chelsea fan and someone who played with him and watched from afar he gave this club such great times individually in his input. We were thankful he was here.
"It’s not one to dwell on. He’s gone. We wish him well. He’s a great player. It’s important now what we do and how we take the club forward.
"You look around at what you do have and what we have is already a very strong squad and young players at a really good age.
"Some already are huge players and some that can get even better. Part of my job now will be to get that out of them and develop the great young players we have here."
Lampard is already familiar with some of the youngsters at Stamford Bridge, having coached Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori during their loan spells at Derby County last season, but Lampard insisted there will be no favouritism shown towards them.
‘They were great for me last year both of them I appreciated that they were pivotal in the team,’ he added.
"They came back with a very clean slate as does everyone to prove in pre-season that they have a chance to be in the squad going forward."
