Podcast: Chelsea and Tuchel make a DREADFUL decision…

NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review The Chelsea Spot Podcast

  1. NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review
  2. Scared, Potter?

In our latest episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Paree (Owner – @CFCParee) was joined by Danny (Writer – @danny_new_) to discuss the very disappointing decision of sending Harvey Vale, Tino Anjorin & Billy Gilmour to the U-21s, the massive centre-half dilemma and the striker situation after Broja’s departure to West Ham!

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Podcast: Lubacku, Kounde, Pre-Season & Super Cup!

NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review The Chelsea Spot Podcast

  1. NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review
  2. Scared, Potter?

In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Orlando (Host – @0rland1nho), Paree (Owner – @CFCParee) & Dan (Admin- @danbarkzr) discuss the season ahead. Talking about where Chelsea are going to finish and who could be our best player throughout the season, to a possible training ground bustup…

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Podcast: Academy Season Review w/ Joe Tweedie!

NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review The Chelsea Spot Podcast

  1. NOW WE ARE TALKING! | Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund Review
  2. Scared, Potter?

In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Orlando (Host – @0rland1nho) and Paree (Owner – @CFCParee) were joined by Chelsea guru Joe (Guest – JoeTweedie) to discuss last season’s academy success especially with individuals such as Bate, Colwill, Lawrence, Lewis, Livramento. We then also look ahead to next season as to which players should be leaving on loan and who could move up into the 23s permanently. 

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The U23s must be treated better soon or we will regret it

I was fuming. Absolutely fuming and I’ve only just started to calm down. I found out quite early that there would be no chances for any Chelsea debuts against Morecambe on the weekend, and that really was disappointing. This pretty much is going to be a rant as to why including none of Lewis Bate, Henry Lawrence and Tino Livramento in the squad was an absolute disgrace. I do understand that there were reasons and context as to why not all of them couldn’t make it, but, if I’m honest, most of the arguments were pretty weak in my opinion. I will try and balance it out, especially towards the end of this piece, but I’m still confident that many wrong choices were made on the weekend. I know most of you have already read the first paragraph and think I’m just overreacting and moaning for the sake of it, but please do read right to the very end.

I think one thing to point out before we get started is that I absolutely love the academy. I watch every single U23s game and as many of the U18s as possible, and I’m not afraid to admit that I am biased towards them. When I was writing the plan to this article, the thoughts just kept on coming and that is simply because the youth team is an area I’m so passionate about. So yes, I will probably be quite one-sided here, but I don’t think that takes anything away from the fact that Sunday’s squad selection was not good enough, whoever’s fault that is. Before we get started, I do have to give credit to Frank Lampard and the staff members that I am even having this conversation. No manager other than Lampard has brought in the youth like he has, giving multiple debuts last season and trusting them, so I guess I’m only frustrated because I expect Frank to match those amazing opportunities he gave last season. Let’s get into it.

Chelsea got drawn against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round, and as soon as that got announced, I had been looking forward to this fixture. The last two weeks I genuinely have never been as excited for a game in a while, as I and many others expected to see 2-3 debuts from players I had been watching and raving about for ages. The week before the game, I heard that Bate, Livramento and Lawrence were all training with the first team – brilliant. A few days later, Jude Soonsup-Bell & Marcel Lewis made it an academy team of 5 – even better. When the number reached five, I was confident we would see a few of them make the squad. The whole of Saturday I was texting people asking which players have made it to the squad. None. What? Huh? I already counted Anjorin as first team as he is that good and fully deserves to be in that picture, but it was just shocking to see no other players involved in the squad. I was not asking them to start the game, which I’ll talk about later, but are you really telling me Henry Lawrence couldn’t be on the bench with Reece James out and that Lewis Bate couldn’t get ahead of Jorginho or Kovacic for an FA cup game against League 2 side Morecambe?

I saw so many people say it would have been too much of a risk for Lampard to include them in the squad. Wrong. So wrong. If you said too much of a risk to be starting, you could have a point, yet I’d still heavily disagree with you as I’m about to explain, but in no way was it a risk putting them on the bench. None at all. One competition that Chelsea participate in, the EFL Trophy, consists of the best U21 teams coming up against professional sides in the third and fourth tiers of English football. It’s a brilliant experience for the young lads as they get to experience the real game for the first time and our kids are more than good enough to put up a real fight. Earlier on this season our U21s faced Bristol Rovers in one of the best games of the season and we unfortunately narrowly lost 4-3. Despite the loss, the players were still extremely impressive and should have been very proud of their performance. Three days ago, Bristol Rovers only just lost to Sheffield United – a Premier League team! Now, I know football doesn’t work this way, but if you use a bit of logic that’s only going to suggest that our U23’s would put up a real fight against a Premier League team, and although we probably would lose, it just shows that our boys are good enough. Our side against Bristol Rovers basically consisted of 10 kids + Danny Drinkwater, so to start/involve 2-3 of them against a side in the division below Bristol Rovers in Morecambe with world class players around them really wouldn’t have caused any harm. Here’s the thing about these players: they are more than good enough, and that’s because we have one of the best academies in the world. Throughout the game against Morecambe, I couldn’t stop thinking about how slow Azpilicueta was, and although he’s a good squad player to have as well as being a Chelsea legend, he simply does not have the brain of an attacking fullback, and I can pretty much guarantee that Lawrence or Livramento would not have done any worse either from the bench or the start, as well as it being a huge learning curve for them. No risk whatsoever.

Against Morecambe, especially in the first half, we looked short of ideas and the intensity was lacking. However, it was absolutely no surprise to me that our three best players were all academy products – Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour. I’ve said it so many times, but these are the guys who will put so much desire and effort into this club and would do anything to put the Chelsea shirt on, compared to signings who just want to play in the Premier League (of course they like the club, but no way near in the same way). Another thing which frustrated me even more was how Anjorin was treated in the game. He definitely had a case to start, although I understand that it was good to give Hudson-Odoi confidence and Ziyech some match fitness, leaving Anjorin on the bench. We were 3-0 up around the 50th minute, and everyone was waiting for Anjorin to come on and impress. But no, we had to wait another 30 minutes and he was given 10 pity minutes where he probably touched the ball about 5 times and was brought on after Christian Pulisic, who we’re trying to protect from injuries! Not only that, but he also came on the pitch playing as a right-sided winger, a position he has very rarely played, in a new formation that we were trying out and you could see he was playing way too close to Kai Havertz at times – can we please see Tino in midfield, just once? My point is, give these players chances, even better a proper chance, and they will turn up. Billy Gilmour got given that chance vs Liverpool last season and his career arguably changed due to that game, same with Anjorin after being arguably the best player on the pitch against Krasnodar in the Champions League, and I’m sure very similar things could transpire with the likes of Lawrence, Bate and Livramento if they were given a proper shot.

The worst part is that last season we were known for giving opportunities and now this season it all seems to have been thrown out of the window. Aston Villa (albeit due to a coronavirus-struck senior squad) fielded a full academy team against a very strong Liverpool side, and really put in a good shift as some players impressed the world. Manchester City and Spurs included young kids in their squad, the main name being Alfie Devine who scored at the age of 16 for Tottenham. Just a few weeks ago, Chelsea U23’s played Spurs U23’s in a thrilling match, where Devine got sent off and Livramento, Lawrence and Bate were all better players on the night, yet it was the much lesser-experienced Devine who was given the opportunity to make his dreams come true by José Mourinho, of all people! In the third round of the FA Cup, pretty much every side gave minutes to some kids and we didn’t, which is really frustrating for the fans as we literally have one of the best academies in the world and arguably the best in the country. What makes it more annoying is that Lampard gave debuts to players last season, and the likes of Maatsen, Broja and Guehi have all developed heavily since (which Frank can take huge credit for), but we’re not doing the same thing. Even worse, these guys are going to go to their England camps, and despite being some of the better players there, they’ll be the ones with the least number of minutes in professional football.

And that’s just not going to make the youth players happy. They will see players in their age group playing senior football and getting opportunities which will just be disappointing for them. The best example has to be Jamal Musiala. The ex-Chelsea man is best mates with some of our guys in the academy right now, and it is very likely that if he stayed here, he would still be stuck in the U18s or U23s. Yet, he took the risk of leaving and going to Bayern Munich and is now recognised as one of the best youngsters in the world. His mates will be looking at him and surely be thinking why that couldn’t be them too, especially with Germany being a very appealing option for English youngsters at the moment. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s camp tried to do the same thing by forcing a move to Bayern Munich, Charlie Webster has been linked with Dortmund in the past, and these examples will keep on coming. After all, other clubs will be seeing Chelsea not giving many opportunities and will be licking their lips as they’ll simply just try to seize one of our incredible talents. On top of that, the guys in the 18’s and even lower will be keeping an eye on how the youth is used in the first team to see whether they have a future at the club. I don’t want any academy prospect to leave, nor do I necessarily think they will, but they will certainly be assessing their options based on what goes on around the first team in terms of opportunities for youngsters.

I don’t think it is anywhere near yet turning into this case, but could we be returning back to the old cycle of not using the kids? This is especially if Frank Lampard does end up leaving the club sooner rather than later – if Lampard can’t give minutes to the younger lads, who will? We know Frank has been brilliant with the youth in the last 18 months, so with another manager the situation could obviously be even worse. Is there a pathway from the academy into the first team? Or does it look like being loaned is the only option and following the likes of Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher? Don’t get me wrong, both players’ development away from Chelsea has been absolutely exceptional, however I can fully understand why some players wouldn’t want to take the risk of going out on loan when things can change so quickly, and before you know you’re in the constant cycle of being sent out season after season, which really can hinder development. This links to my next point in that the academy players need to feel rewarded after staying at the club and for playing so well, and currently they are not. For playing so well in the U23s right now and to an extremely top level, they are being rewarded with…absolutely nothing. For example, Henry Lawrence just signed a new contract at the club, has trained with the first team multiple times this season, been the most consistently excellent player for the academy for a full year and a half, yet he has just missed out on so many occasions. What more does he actually need to do to make the bench against Morecambe when someone in his position – Reece James – was injured? Then, there’s players like Marcel Lewis (one of my favourite players in the academy who is criminally underrated) who has been brought into the first team bubble recently, how’s he going to feel? His contract runs out in the Summer and I’m sure we’re trying to convince him to sign an extension, perhaps before going out on loan. But, from his point of view, why should he sign a deal when he’s seeing his mates not get an opportunity (he’s probably even further behind the others mentioned in this article too)? The players aren’t stupid and they’ve seen what’s happened in the past.

Now, obviously, there will always be players who will leave the club at a young age and we cannot do anything about. That’s absolutely fine. For example, we would have tried our best to convince Musiala and Illing-Jr to stay at the club, but if they still wanted to leave, there’s nothing we can do. Same with Tariq Lamptey – there unfortunately wasn’t anything else we could do to keep him at the club. Talents will always leave, but it’s about reducing the amounts that are even thinking about it. We have to do our very best to keep them at the club, especially with this very special crop of players coming through (Colwill, Bate, Livramento, Lawrence, Simons, Soonsup-Bell, Webster etc). And that starts right from the very top.

But, despite all the criticism I have given, you do have to remember I am talking about Jody Morris and Joe Edwards who are in the coaching staff, probably the two best academy coaches the club has ever had, and they surely know what they’re doing, right? Which probably means I should shut up. Lampard also has a very large squad and perhaps politically he is being forced to play some of them or keep the squad players happy – I do understand that. There was context to the kids not starting. Hopefully the game did a world of confidence for the likes of Werner, Havertz, Mount and Hudson-Odoi. Hopefully the victory improved the morale around the club, and we can go on a running form. That still won’t take away the disappointment I had when I saw that not a single player would be making their debut against Morecambe.

Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe I’m being biased. Maybe, in six weeks’ time, I will look like an absolute idiot when these kids get their chances against Luton in the FA Cup, or in the very heavy schedule. Then again, we would be treating the 23s better in 6 weeks than we are now if that were the case, and that’s simply all I’m asking for. Deep down I do believe that they will be given their chances in the next six months. Some need to be if we want to keep them around. That’s the way football works nowadays. Play the kids, or they leave, because our boys are damn good enough.

What did you think of the article? I know it’s an extremely controversial topic criticising Lampard on the way he’s using the youth after he’s done so much for the academy lads, but let me know your thoughts on our social media!

Written by Paree

Gilmour and Anjorin can offer us a lot in the next few months…

Yesterday’s game certainly is going to back up a lot of what I’m about to say.

Last night’s challenge against Rennes clearly highlighted the problems we have in midfield. To an average Chelsea fan, or a supporter of another club, many would see the abudance in midfield and question me heavily as to why I’m complaining. After all, we did spend £100 million on Jorginho and Kovacic, the best part of another hundred on Kai Havertz and sent Loftus-Cheek and Barkley out on loan. However, the problem is that with the new way we’re playing, Jorginho and Kovacic are going to struggle.

A topic which has been widely discussed so far this season is the different formations we’ve used – mainly 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. With the 4-3-3, we currently only have two ‘proper’ number 8s in Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, and with the 4-2-3-1 we are lacking a player who can play next to Kante, as none of the midfield partnerships in a midfield pivot are working at the moment.

Mateo Kovacic has played as a number 8 in the last few games, and has impressed, but he still is learning a lot about the position and it isn’t his natural place to be on the pitch. For Jorginho, as much as I love the man, I think it’s very clear that he doesn’t fit in this system and when he plays we are extremely weak defensively. I mean, just have a look at this…

https://twitter.com/ExpectedChelsea/status/1331607445513400321?s=20

This, is where I feel Billy Gilmour will help the team so much, and potentially Tino Anjorin too. However, this article may surprise a few people who haven’t watched Gilmour as much, especially when talking about the 4-3-3. Let’s get into it!

Gilmour in the 4-2-3-1

I think the first thing to mention with the Scottish midfielder is that he is just returning from a bad injury, and that it will take him time to get back to his best. He has played for the development squad in the last two weeks, where he looks close to full match fitness and also scored a screamer from the edge of the box against Manchester City. It hopefully shouldn’t take him too long to get to full sharpness, but it’s just something to keep in mind.

A screamer from Billy Gilmour a few days ago…

A lot of last season, and even this season, we have tried to find our best midfield pivot in a 4-2-3-1. And the matter of the fact is that we still haven’t, because they’re all pretty bad. A Kante-Jorginho midfield is very slow, a Kante-Kovacic midfield is not offensive enough and a Jorginho-Kovacic may look aesthetically pleasing, but as I showed above, that type of defending happens many times a game which often goes missed.

Could Gilmour be the perfect person to play next to Kante with Havertz in front? I certainly think so. Billy offers so much on and off the ball, as he holds an exquisite passing range and is very sound defensively. Everyone knows about his passing abilities, both short and long, and some of his best defensive work came against Liverpool in the FA Cup last season where he got stuck in and was able to keep up with forwards such as Mane who were running in behind – something which Jorginho would see but not be able to catch up, and which Kovacic would be quick enough to run but would simply stare at oppositions midfielders running past him. One of Billy’s underrated qualities is definitely his dribbling, something which I will talk about next when discussing his role in the 4-3-3.

This is the incredible piece of defending I am talking about…

Sounds great then. Havertz as the 10 would be able to drop deep and link the play between the midfield and attack; Gilmour could play slightly just ahead of Kante who can sit deep and still have the reassurance that if he wanted to go forward, there would be someone who would be able to temporarily defend.

Gilmour in the 4-3-3

Having said all that, it’s been pretty clear so far this season that Frank is pushing towards the 4-3-3 when all our players are fit. As I said before, this is where most people who haven’t watched Gilmour as much will be surprised.

Last season when Gilmour featured towards the end of the season, he was playing instead of Kante, in the deeper number 6 role. Don’t get me wrong, he can do a very good job there as we saw, and he would be the backup option for Kante until we get Declan Rice either in January or the Summer. But I actually think the best place for him in this system would be playing as number 8, slightly ahead of a sitting midfielder.

When he played in the academy, he was almost always playing as an 8. Most of the time it was George Mceachran who was sitting the deepest, a player quite similar to Jorginho in terms of their style, and Billy in front, with someone like Tino Anjorin or Conor Gallagher to the other side. As an 8 I think he’s got it all – passing, running, dribbling, an eye for goal around the box and most importantly he’s an aggressive player off the ball despite his physique.

Like I said before, at the moment we really only have two natural number 8’s, them being Kai Havertz and Mason Mount. Chelsea have an extremely tight schedule coming up and both players will be needing rest, so Gilmour would be the best player to come in for them.

The last thing to say about the 19 year old is that we have brought in world class players, and they are only going to make him better. He’s going to have one of the world’s best centre-backs in the last two decades behind him telling him where to be and what to do, a generational young talent right next to him, some utterly disgusting pace in front of him as well as a magician. We genuinely could see some huge developments in this game this season making him one of the best young players in the world, I’m sure of it.

Tino Anjorin

I wouldn’t expect Anjorin to feature heavily soon for the first team, but he’s certainly one who we could see on the bench for a couple games, especially having already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages. Tino has been playing for the development squad this season after returning from an injury, and he’s almost back to his very best. I said at the beginning of the year that he was going to be too good for the U23’s, and he hasn’t proven me wrong. Even against men, he looked the most comfortable on the pitch, scoring a brace against League One team Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy (or the Papa John’s trophy – whatever you prefer). He definitely needs a challenge, whether that is with the first team or out on loan, because it’s too easy for him at the moment.

For me, his chance is just lurking around the corner. I’m not sure what is happening with the COVID bubbles and whether he’s actually allowed to play with the first team, but if he is, I can see him getting a shot very soon. He trained a lot with the big boys towards the end of last season and if it wasn’t for his injury during Project Restart he almost definitely would have featured. He also received many loan offers in the Summer, but wanted to stay and make himself available to Lampard, and I would assume one main reason behind that was seeing the departures of Loftus-Cheek and Barkley.

In the whole of the club, he is definitely the next most natural 8 after Kai and Mason. Not only that, he can easily play at the 10, fitting the gaffer’s formations perfectly and potentially making him a great asset in the future. We don’t really have someone like him in the main squad, although it could be argued that he has a few similarities to Havertz – they both play in similar positions, have a great eye for goal and are extremely clinical. The main difference between the two is quite obviously their physical status, with Anjorin being one of the strongest guys around, yet still being quick (don’t get me wrong, Kai is still extremely fast.)

Anjorin is more of a bogey player and one to keep an eye out for, as I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets promoted to the first team camp allowing him to feature for the first team, or if a loan deal gets agreed to a Championship or European team.

Do you agree with the idea of Gilmour playing as an 8 and Anjorin possibly featuring for the first team? Make sure to let us know on our social media platforms and my own personal account!

Written by Paree

The Chelsea Spot Podcast #4 – The U23’s & U18’s

Episode 4 – The Academy

In our fourth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Paree (Host – @ACParee) and Orlando (@0rland1nho) discuss the most talked about academy players in Cobham.

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Lampard Faces a ‘Good’ Dilemma in the Midfield Next Season

Questions have been flying around on social media over what happens to the midfield next year: Who’s starting? Who’s going to be left out? Who should we sell? Well, in this article, I try and answer all of the questions. The key word there is ‘try’, because if I’m being totally honest, we don’t have a clue what Frank Lampard is going to do.

Let’s have a look at the midfield. In the midfield for next season, we have a hugely talented list: Kovacic, Kante, Jorginho, Mount, Loftus-Cheek, Ziyech, Barkley, Gilmour, Ampadu, Gallagher and Anjorin. Eleven midfielders who Frank has to somehow entertain, whether that is on loan or kept, or even to be sold. Let’s go through each player…

Kovacic. Most people would say this season’s best player for Chelsea. He has just been outstanding, and his progress from Sarri to Lampard has been unbelievable to watch. We can always rely on the Croatian midfielder, with him even picking up a few goals, something which Chelsea fans never thought they would see. He’s guaranteed to stay next season and should be starting almost every single game.

Kante. The French midfielder has struggled this season especially with injuries, and this has led to many Chelsea fans debating whether it could be worth trying to cash out in the Summer. There is no doubt he has got tons of talent and on his day is one of the best midfielders in the world, but at the age of 29, he may be coming towards the latter stages of his career. I assume that he will still be here next season, but we never know what the board will do.

Jorginho. Another very difficult situation with the Italian. He has turned the fans’ perspective of himself in just a season, with boos turning into cheers. However, despite improving in the Premier League this season, he has still struggled a bit and hasn’t managed to hit the form which he struck at the beginning of the season. With being a vocal leader on and off the pitch, as well as taking the vice-captaincy role, I assume he will also stay next season at Chelsea.

Freed from Maurizio Sarri, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are becoming ...
Image Source: Getty Images

Mount. The English midfielder has certainly had ups and downs this season, showing impressive signs for a first season in the English First Division. His form dipped after playing many games through injury and having a long wait for a goal, but he managed to get through the season and started to regain his best form after the international break. He is definitely going nowhere this season.

Loftus-Cheek. Unfortunately, Ruben was just getting back into the groove with training, but didn’t manage to get an appearance for the first team this season. His injury problems are something to keep an eye on, with him hitting the age of 24 with only 70 Premier League appearances under his belt. I certainly would keep him, as he’s such a talented player, and Lampard surely can’t wait to include him into the squad as one of the more experienced players.

Ziyech. Our new Moroccan signing is someone who Chelsea fans cannot wait to see play at the Bridge, but his debut may be delayed as we currently do not know what is going to happen with the COVID situation. We are also unaware whether he has been signed to play on the wing or in the midfield, but his versitality is something we will enjoy. Obviously, he’ll be here next season, and we cannot wait to see him play in the Blue shirt.

Hakim Ziyech is officially a Chelsea player
Image Source: GiveMeSport

We’re already six midfielders in, and personally I feel that they will all stay at the club. The average club keeps aroudn 6-7 midfielders, so these next few choices will be very interesting…

Barkley. Ross has certainly had more downs than ups this season, with off the pitch mentality certainly causing problems in the media. However, Lampard has praised his hard-work in the last few months and is a big fan of the English midfielder. He is one who certainly has the talent, yet is so frustrating because we only see this talent a couple times a season. I love the player, but personally for me, it’ll be time to say goodbye.

Gilmour. The Scottish Iniesta, as they say. Recently impressing the world with two Man of the Match Performances in a row against Liverpool and Everton, he certainly will be here next season. The perfect young player to have, who can play almost anywhere in the midfield, as well as having the mentality and ability to go right to the very top.

Ampadu. The Welshman has received little game time at his loan spell in Germany, leaving many Chelsea fans disapppointed. However, he definitely would have learnt many new skills with top players around him, and we all know the immense talent he has. For me, he is one who should stay at the club and we would have seen a real improvement in his game, showing glimpses of what he can be with his Champions League performance against Spurs.

Gallagher. Conor is a player who I have doubted many times over the last few seasons, and was shocked to see him pick up the Player of the Season for the academy last year. However, he has proved me completely wrong, and shown huge signs at both Charlton and Swansea. Saying that, I would still try and send him on loan to a Premier League club next season where he can get some proper experience, especially as he may struggle to break into the Chelsea first team next season.

Chelsea beat Spurs to win U18 PL Cup final
Image Source: Getty Images

Anjorin. And finally, Tino. The Chelsea Spot understand that the plan has always been for Anjorin to stay at the club and try and breakthrough directly like Hudson-Odoi and Gilmour have done. However, things may have obviously changed in the last few months since we heard this news, and it may best for him to go try and get some gametime, as we all know he is way too good for youth football.

I haven’t gone into too much detail on some of the players as possible, as in the next few days there will be more detailed articles on The Chelsea Spot on what to do with Kante and Barkley, so make sure to follow us on all our social media platforms!

So, we’ve gone through all the players. I’ll now try and summarise what I think Frank Lampard will do next season…

Most likely to start – Ziyech, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic and Kante.

In contention to start – Mount, Jorginho, Gilmour.

Loan – Gallagher, Ampadu, Anjorin.

Sell – Barkley.

What would you do with our midfielders? Who would you sell or keep? Let us know on our social media or in our comments below!