Chelsea boss Frank Lampard praises "fearless" Tariq Lamptey and confirms contract talks

Tariq Lamptey

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has praised Tariq Lamptey for his performance against Arsenal on Sunday.

The teenage right-back made his first-team debut at the Emirates Stadium, entering the fray as a second-half substitute.

Lamptey turned in an impressive display as Chelsea came from behind to beat their London rivals 2-1.

And Lampard has revealed that the youngster is in talks with the club over a new contract, with his current deal set to expire next summer.

"We'll see. He's talking with the club and hopefully he feels a bit of love from today as we've parachuted him in," Lampard said.

"He was actually on his Christmas break when we called him in yesterday. He trained and then played.

"I'd seen him when I was doing my coaching badges and you do a lot of hours with the academy and youth team. I saw him train a lot and I know he has a different dimension as a right-sided wing back.

"He has pace, low centre of gravity and can go by people. Of course he wants to work on his end product and all the last bits.

"My question to Jody [Morris] when he came on was whether he had got the confidence and personality to deal with this, a tough game with responsibility to try and turn it. Jody said: 'Yeah, no problem.'

"When he drove inside and slipped Tammy in I thought it was a great example of someone coming on and being fearless. Sometimes that's what you get with youth."

Chelsea's triumph at the Emirates Stadium saw them move four points clear of Manchester United in the race for the final Champions League qualification spot.

The Blues return to Premier League action against Brighton on New Year's Day, before facing Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup next weekend.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).