Summary
The eight players Frank Lampard handed debuts to as Chelsea manager have all gone down different paths.
Mason Mount joined Lampard at Chelsea in 2019, excelled under Tuchel, but faded into the background after moving to Manchester United in 2023.
Reece James remains at Chelsea, flourishing in various roles under Maresca, and is the only player still in the senior squad following Lampard's departure in 2021.
The prospect of club legend Frank Lampard returning to Chelsea as manager, five years after bidding farewell to Stamford Bridge as a player, was a dream scenario for Blues fans. His arrival in 2019 marked the dawn of a new managerial generation, with Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard also taking their first steps in coaching.
But what seemed like a storybook reunion quickly turned awry. The former Champions League-winning midfielder - among the best England has ever produced - lasted just two years before reality set in that his managerial strengths were better suited to the Championship, where he had previously impressed with Derby County. Still, his tenure left one lasting legacy: the eight youth academy prospects he handed first starts to.
These days, Lampard is making waves at Coventry City, turning a team once tipped for relegation at the start of the term into serious promotion contenders, firmly positioned in the playoff spots. But what about the Chelsea youngsters he once put his faith in? We've taken a look at where they are now.
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Mason Mount
Manchester United
Mason Mount in action for Manchester United
After registering 11 goals and six assists under Lampard during his loan spell at Derby County in 2018-19, Mason Mount unsurprisingly followed his manager back to Stamford Bridge. The midfielder benefitted from Chelsea’s transfer ban and enjoyed a hugely impressive breakthrough campaign with the Blues in 2019-20, establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.
He continued to flourish under Lampard’s successor Thomas Tuchel, setting up the match-winner in the Champions League final and winning Chelsea’s Player of the Year award in 2020-21. But a move to Manchester United in 2023 proved fatal, and after a string of injuries and as United continue to crumble, Mount is becoming somewhat of a forgotten entity in English football, and he's lost his status as an England international as a result. Nowadays, he's better known as one of the most overpaid players in England's top division.
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Billy Gilmour
Napoli
Billy Gilmour
Signed from Rangers as a 16-year-old in 2017, Billy Gilmour worked his way through the ranks at Chelsea and came off the bench to make his senior debut against Sheffield United in August 2019. The midfielder was later named Man of the Match in his first starts in the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League.
Naturally, Lampard knows a good midfielder when he sees one, and Gilmour later burst onto the international scene when he earned yet another Man of the Match award - this time during the 0-0 draw between Scotland and England at Euro 2020. Sadly, the Scot found it much harder to impress Thomas Tuchel, and he would leave Chelsea for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022, before now finding himself at Napoli alongside Scott McTominay where he has featured in 16 Serie A fixtures under Antonio Conte.
Reece James
Chelsea
Chelsea's Reece James vs Bournemouth
Reece James is the only player Lampard handed a first start to who remains a key component in Enzo Maresca's 2024/25 squad, as he was named captain ahead of the new campaign. Injuries may have dealt a quelling blow to the Englishman's evolution as one of the best right-backs in the Premier League, but his resilience has meant he is back with a vengeance in 2025.
After recently being entrusted with a transition into a midfield role, James scored a wonderful goal against Copenhagen in the Blues' Europa Conference League first leg fixture against Copenhagen. Scoring and assisting from afar is certainly a key characteristic of the 25-year-old, and with 13 goals and 23 assists in 171 appearances for Chelsea that has seen him help the club to a Champions League title, Lampard was absolutely right to promote him back in 2019 after a successful loan spell at Wigan Athletic.
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Marc Guehi
Crystal Palace
Marc Guehi in action for Crystal Palace
Marc Guehi can quite easily be put into the same bracket as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah as players Chelsea let go too easily. If there was ever any need for evidence on that, then let it be the fact the free-spending Todd Boehly regime were desperately trying to lure him back to west London in the summer of 2024.
Guehi was handed his senior Chelsea debut by Lampard in a League Cup tie with Grimsby and also played in their defeat to Man United in the same competition. But that 2-1 loss to United proved to be his last appearance for the Blues, and he then spent 18 months on loan at Championship side Swansea City, which led to a permanent switch to Crystal Palace. Now one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League after being one of England's standout Euro 2024 performers, it's safe to say the Blues never need reminding that you never quite know what you have until it's gone.
Ian Maatsen
Aston Villa
Ian Maatsen of Aston Villa
Like Guehi, Ian Maatsen also made his senior Chelsea debut in the win over Grimsby, but that remains his only appearance for the Blues. He would spend loan spells at Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Burnley, and Borussia Dortmund before realising he was too good to be chained to the Blues' circus of a loan act.
The Dutchman now plies his trade for Aston Villa. So far this term, he has appeared in 22 Premier League games and played a part in all but two of the club's Champions League games. It's fair to say he has made a success of himself after it once appeared he would forever be jumping from ship to ship in search of a permanent home.
Tino Anjorin
Empoli
Chelsea's Tino Anjorin celebrates scoring
During Lampard’s time in charge of Chelsea, Anjorin made solitary appearances in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and the Champions League. But he only made one cameo appearance under Tuchel and went on loan to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League ahead of 2021-22.
The attacking midfielder/winger would then play no more than 15 games during loan spells with Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth before finally making a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge in 2024. Since joining Empoli, he has been a regular starter in the Serie A, producing three assists in 17 outings in Italy so far.
Tariq Lamptey
Brighton & Hove Albion
Tariq Lamptey for Brighton
Tariq Lamptey was tipped for a bright future at Chelsea and enjoyed an impressive debut against Arsenal in December 2019, helping the Blues come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1. But the right-back made just two more appearances for the club before rejecting a new contract and joining Brighton in a £4.5million deal in January 2020.
Though a difficult decision at the time, it has since proved to be a wise one. Despite struggling with injury problems, he was regarded as one of the best young players in the Premier League after breaking through with a series of electric performances in the 2021-22 campaign. Fast forward three years, and he remains a constant on the south coast. This term, he has four goal contributions in 13 league appearances as the Seagulls eye a return to European football.
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Armando Broja
Everton (on loan from Chelsea)
Armando Broja
Armando Broja came off the bench in the closing stages of a 4-0 win over Everton in March 2020, but he has since struggled to earn the trust of his managers to warrant a regular place in the senior squad. A loan switch to Vitesse saw him rake in 10 league goals across 30 appearances, before short-term stints at Fulham and Southampton proved far less fruitful.
On 30 August 2024, shortly before the transfer window closed, Broja signed for fellow Premier League side Everton on a season-long loan with an option to make the transfer permanent. As a striker who hasn't found the back of the net for the Toffees yet though, it would take a remarkable twist for the Albanian international to get that permanent move away from Chelsea at the end of the campaign.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 15/03/2025)