Frank Lampard lavishes praise on Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi

According to Football.london, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard believes Callum Hudson-Odoi is doing better than ever.

The 20-year-old has made 17 appearances for the club this season. During that time he has scored five goals and made two assists. (h/t Transfermarkt)

The winger has been in good form of late. He impressed off the bench against Arsenal and Manchester City before putting in another stellar performance against Morecambe.

Despite the team looking more threatening with Hudson-Odoi on the pitch, he has often started on the bench. Lampard believes it is ‘lazy’ to claim the Blues are only firing when the player is on the field.

The Blues boss admits that Hudson-Odoi is currently performing at a high level. He has done well to return from injury and is once again showing his ability.

“He is playing at a really high level in terms of where we saw him last year, recovering from an injury.”

Speaking ahead of the game against Fulham, Hudson-Odoi insisted that he needed to make the most of the opportunities that come his way. Lampard for one is witnessing progression in the player and believes he will continue to get chances.

“His progression is there, he is getting his chances and he will get more chances.”

Crossing the threshold?

The Chelsea boss went on to label Hudson-Odoi’s form as the best it has been during his reign. At 20, he still has the best years of his career ahead of him. So far the signs look good and it is clear why he is held in such high regard.

“He is playing better than I have seen him play for us and really contributing. That is through his own hard work.”

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The Blues take on Leicester City later tonight. With Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner failing to find the back of the net, Hudson-Odoi can hopefully once again be the difference-maker.

Hopefully, he is now able to get a consistent run of games and become a regular in the side.

Frank Lampard urges Chelsea striker Timo Werner to keep working hard

According to The Express, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has urged misfiring striker Timo Werner to keep working hard as he struggles to end his Premier League goal drought.

One of our big-money signings of the summer, Werner has shown enough to promise to suggest he can be a hit. However, a recent dip in form has seen him struggle for goals.

The 24-year-old has now gone 10 Premier League games without a goal and is far from the player who scored for fun in the Bundesliga.

Werner had the opportunity to end the drought at Fulham. Put through clean on goal, he was unable to find the target. Lampard believes there is nothing unusual about the streak. He admitted that such moments occur in a striker career.

“It is absolutely normal in a striker’s life to have tough moments, and Timo Werner is having a tough moment.”

Usually a clinical player, Werner’s finishing has gone astray. he still keeps getting into good positions but has only been unable to apply the coup de grace.

“I am happy he went through. He must keep his head up and he will have the ultimate support from me.”

Werner appears to have the backing of his manager. Lampard is pleased with his striker’s off the ball movement and believes there will be days where he will be rewarded handsomely for his efforts.

“Timo will have nights like tonight where he scores loads.”

The German will hopefully go on to prove his manager a prophet in the coming weeks.

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Strikers, especially big-money signings such as Werner, are often adjudged on the number of goals they score.

While the German has not set the field on fire, his record isn’t abysmal either. All it takes for a striker to put a streak together is to get that elusive first goal. Hopefully, it will come sooner than later for Werner.

Danny Drinkwater has left Chelsea to join Kasimpasa on loan

According to the club’s official site, Chelsea outcast Danny Drinkwater has joined Turkish side Kasimpasa on a loan.

The 30-year-old will now spend the remainder of the season in the Turkish top-flight. Whether there is an option to make the deal permanent is unknown.

The move represents a welcome change for the Englishman who has struggled for first-team appearances at Stamford Bridge. In fact, Drinkwater has not made a senior appearance for us since 2018. The club was keen to sell him in the summer but was unable to find any takers.

Signed for a whopping £35million deal from Leicester City in the summer of 2017, Drinkwater never really got going in the blue of Chelsea

He looked a million miles away from the player who was key to Leicester’s title triumph just two years ago. This is in stark contrast to the fortunes of N’Golo Kante who also swapped the King Power Stadium for Stamford Bridge a year earlier.

The midfielder has made just 12 appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea. His two loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa also yielded just five league games combined. (h/t The Athletic) (Subscription Required)

Drinkwater’s contract at Chelsea runs until 2022. This chance at playing regular football again could help him attract suitors ahead of the summer.

As previous loan spells at Burnley and Villa have shown, the problem is more to do with the player than the club.

He has made four appearances this season, none of them for the first-team. Drinkwater was sent off for kicking out at a teenager in a PL2 fixture.

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Drinkwater’s career has nosedived since he made the move to Chelsea. At 30, there is still time to resurrect it if he so wishes. The onus, however, falls on him and it remains to be seen what happens.

UCL boost for Chelsea as Tripper could miss out for Atletico Madrid

According to The Guardian, Chelsea will face off against Atletico Madrid in the UCL, who will be playing without Kieran Trippier at right-back unless they appeal to the court of arbitration of sport.

The 30-year-old was hit with a 10-week suspension last month after advising a friend to bet on his move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.

This was a breach of the Football Associating betting rules. With FIFA now dismissing Atlético Madrid’s appeal, he looks set to sit out for the original duration of the ban.

However, an oversight by the FA could see the player eligible to play. This after they failed in their attempt to revise the dates of Trippier’s ban. This means he can continue playing provided Atletico appeal to the court of arbitration of sport.

The FA had wanted to revise the effective dates of the ban, which ends on 28 February. However, their own independent regulatory commission has dismissed the application.

Trippier was found guilty of four of the seven charges against him. He missed two La Liga games due to the ban but returned to action in last Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Sevilla. He made an assist on the night as Diego Simeone’s side continue to lead La Liga.

The Englishman is a key component of the Atletico system. He has started when fit and gives the Spaniards an explosive outlet down their right.

Trippier has so far made 20 appearances this season, making five assists. Also an adept set-piece taker, the Englishman is a key cog in the Simeone machine.

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Irrespective of whether Trippier makes it or not, Atletico will present a formidable challenge to Chelsea. The tie will represent a real test of Frank Lampard’s managerial abilities.

The first leg will be played in Madrid on 23 February with the return leg penned in for 17th March.