Former Arsenal and West Ham defender Matthew Upson believes young midfielder Billy Gilmour has given Frank Lampard 'a problem' ahead of this weekend's return.
The Blues return to action against Aston Villa at an empty Villa Park on Sunday and Gilmour's form before the three-month-plus break has given Lampard a selection dilemma, according to Upson.
The 19-year-old has made three league appearances for Chelsea so far this season and scored in a warm-up game last week.
"Firstly, what a great problem Frank Lampard has," Upson told Sky Sports' Football Show. "When you look at the competition he has now in the middle of the park, there are some outstanding players in brilliant form and none more so than Billy Gilmour.
"The impact he has made as a young player, the energy that he brings to Chelsea, his ability to receive the ball anywhere on the pitch under pressure, and to have the confidence and belief to go and want to take it - it's rare in a young player to have that level of maturity.
"So, he is a problem in a sense for Frank Lampard because you almost feel you have to put him in your team, but then you look at (Mateo) Kovacic, Jorginho, obviously (N'Golo) Kante and you have got Mason Mount a little bit higher up.
"So, it's a brilliant problem to have, but he has to make decision if Gilmour has done enough to be in his starting XI."
Gilmour joined Chelsea from Rangers in 2017 and is a Scotland under-21 international.
