Reece James has confessed he may never have broken into the Chelsea squad had it not been for Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard may be long gone now, but his legacy still burns brightly to this day over at Stamford Bridge.
The former midfielder had a one-of-a-kind career as a Chelsea player. He scored a club record of 211 goals, won 13 trophies, and was rated as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.
He returned to Chelsea five years after his departure in 2019 to replace Maurizio Sarri as the manager during a difficult period, which saw star man Eden Hazard depart and the club being slapped with a transfer ban.
Yet Lampard prevailed in his first season and set a new legacy that will benefit Thomas Tuchel, and the German’s future successors, for years to come by developing the young players.
🗣 'Frank has created his own legacy as a player, we are trying to fulfil the job that he has begun.'
Tuchel on Lampard's credit for the #UCL group stage!
[Source: CHELSEA TV] [#Chelsea | #EPL | #Lampard] pic.twitter.com/HZCrUCRWjf
— The CFCTALK Podcast (@TheCFCTALKPod) May 11, 2021
James, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Billy Gilmour are all in the first-team squad now.
“I always believed I could make it into the first team but loads of players had the ability but always fell at the final hurdle,” James said on Football London.
“I don’t know why that was but Frank as manager helped me and obviously I worked with Jody [Morris] in the academy, they helped integrate us into the first team and I think that had a massive positive impact.”
The full-back added: “Frank gave me my debut here and put his belief in me. If it wasn’t for him, you could argue I wouldn’t be playing now.
“I am always thankful for what he did for me.”
"As a Chelsea fan growing up,I've always looked up to you, idolised you. I can't explain what it's been like to play under you, the whole journey has been surreal."
– Reece James to Frank Lampard pic.twitter.com/XXKGT8BrT5
— Uber Chelsea FC 🏆 (@UberCheIseaFC) January 25, 2021
After a poor run of results, Roman Abramovich made the bold decision to replace Lampard with Tuchel in January.
The change in manager wasn’t widely welcomed, but Tuchel’s impact has been impressive. Chelsea have climbed five places up to fourth in the Premier League and reached the finals of the Champions League and FA Cup.
“I was upset because Frank was the one that took me under his wing, introduced me to the first team and gave me the opportunity to play for the club,” James said on Lampard’s sacking.
“Obviously I was devastated that he was going. But I was also excited that a new opportunity was coming.
“I didn’t really know what was going to happen, but as time went on, our results turned around and our form picked up and we grew and got stronger as a team.”