A feature of Frank Lampard’s first season as Chelsea manager has been the throng of young, homegrown players who have been given the chance to impress in his first-team.
Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori are just a few of those to have made a name for themselves at Stamford Bridge this season.
And since the Premier League has restarted, a handful of Chelsea’s under-23s and under-18s have been training with Lampard’s first-team, including Henry Lawrence.
The versatile 18-year-old has played just shy of 2,500 minutes this season, primarily for the club’s under-23s side in Premier League 2.
He has also turned out in the UEFA Youth League, the under-18s Premier League, the EFL Trophy and played every minute of Chelsea’s rampaging FA Youth Cup run, in which they have scored 17 goals and conceded none.
It is hard to pin down Lawrence’s best position as he has been used as a left midfielder, at right-back, left-back, centre-back and as a defensive midfielder already this season. This is owing to his two-footedness, one area of his game which immediately stands out.
Lampard has spoken about his desire to establish a pathway between Chelsea’s successful youth sides and the first-team at Stamford Bridge, and Lawrence appears to be one player earmarked for progression after impressing the Blues boss.
And it is his versatility, so often a hindrance for young players, that could help Lawrence make his senior bow sooner rather than later.
Reece James, himself a Chelsea youth graduate and just 20 years-old, has struggled with injuries this season, while the January departure of Tariq Lamptey to Brighton and Hove Albion means the pathway to the senior XI for an academy right-back has opened up.
Physically, Lawrence is very athletic, routinely overlapping whenever he starts at full-back, and comfortable in possession.
Given Chelsea’s wealth of senior attacking options, breaking into the side in a more advanced role is altogether more unlikely.
The willingness of Blues’ under-23s manager Andy Myers to use Lawrence in a variety of positions indicates encouraging signs about his development.
Myers clearly trusts the teenager to deliver, something which will no doubt have been reported back to Lampard.
Typically, the stronger areas of Lawrence’s game would translate well to a full-back role. He does not shirk challenges, on the ground or in the air, and remains undeterred despite being more lightweight than the likes of James or Tino Anjorin, another product of the Chelsea academy setup.
There may also be opportunities on the horizon for Lawrence at left-back.
Dutch youth international Ian Maatsen has seen first-team action this season, while the future of senior players Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri remain uncertain. Lawrence’s flexibility means he could be deployed on either flank.
And, having made the right impression in behind-closed-doors training, Lawrence now finds himself on the brink of a Champions League appearance.
Lawrence is joined on the substitutes' bench for the Champions League last-16 second leg clash with Bayern Munich by Maatsen, Dynel Simeu, Lewis Bate and Armando Broja.
If Lampard is to make five changes, at least one of them will get a chance to show their worth.
