Why Tammy Abraham deserves to start at Chelsea – Lampard

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has defended his decision to give Tammy Abraham regular playing time so far this season.

Coming off from his season-long loan spell at Aston Villa where he scored 26 goals in 46 Championship games last season, Abraham has been leading the Blues’ frontline for the 2019-20 campaign.

He has featured in Chelsea’s opening three Premier League games, making two starts with two goals to his credit in the league.

Ahead of Saturday’s league outing against Sheffield United, Lampard praised Abraham’s work ethic in training and his reaction to the online racist abuse he was subjected to a few weeks ago.

When quizzed about his reaction to Abraham’s maturity, Lampard said; “Really impressed. His character and how he dealt with the situation was brilliant in terms of Twitter and the nonsense.

“I spoke strongly about it but he's the one dealing with it first-hand. He's the person who had to rise above it, which is not easy, and he certainly did that. He has this enthusiastic character, he's a people person, the players love him.

“He trains with a smile on his face and has a work ethic. In terms of what I see from the outside in terms of how he's reacted to that, and the competition of getting into the first XI, I can't complain. It's been brilliant. But going back to Mason and to young players, that must stay and improve all the time. Just about football.

“Two goals won't make or break him. That has to be the start, and I have a feeling he's that kind of character. He's had a taste and he needs to push on because there's competition up front. I'm not playing young players for the sake of it. Tammy is playing at the moment because he deserves it, but he'll have to continue deserving it.”