Chelsea kids were squeezed out after £220m spree but now Lampard must put faith in them again

There comes a time when even Frank Lampard will find it impossible to argue why he has left certain players out.

Right now it is not the A-listers he acquired in his £220million spending spree last summer that he overlooks. No. It's the Cobham Kids, as they are affectionately known, that are knocking so hard on the door it is just about to come off the hinges.

Take Callum Hudson-Odoi as one example. A fine player, perhaps among the most gifted young footballers in European football and yet, despite his form, there he sat on the bench as Chelsea huffed and puffed against 10-man Fulham.

He came on eventually, 15 minutes left on the clock, to replace Hakim Ziyech. He will have asked the question this week just what more he has to do to make the starting XI on a regular basis and Lampard knows his excuses are running out.

'Callum could've deserved to start today, to be fair,' Lampard said after the less-than-impressive win at Fulham.

'It's not easy selections for me on that side of the pitch at the moment. I am delighted with how he is playing at the minute and he is approaching it in the right way. He will get many, many minutes for us.'

With Bayern Munich sniffing around last summer, Lampard and Chelsea made a show of their commitment to Hudson-Odoi by giving him a five-year deal worth more than £120,000 a week.

This was first team money. This was 'you can be a regular starter here' type money.

And with Eden Hazard gone before Lampard could get his feet under the table in the summer of 2019, opportunities were there.

Thirty-five games he made in all competitions with four goals and seven assists. England recognition followed and Hudson-Odoi's stock soared.

Take striker Tammy Abraham as another example. He made 47 appearances last season, scoring 18 goals. It was the most games in a single season in his career to date and he finished as the club's top scorer en route to their fourth-placed league finish.

Three loan spells - Bristol City, Swansea City and Aston Villa - had doubters questioning whether Abraham was ever going to make it. Was any Chelsea boss ever going to give him a fair shot?  Lampard did and it yielded spectacular results.

And yet both sat on the bench at Fulham questioning why they were being overlooked. The truth is, it is impossible for Lampard to ignore any more.

Spending £220m changes the optics. Expectations escalate overnight and big fees typically buy players more lives, more chances to 'prove' why Chelsea invested so heavily in them.

Take Werner, signed for £54m, seen as one of Europe's deadliest finishers. No player in Chelsea's entire squad has made more appearances than him and yet he has only one goal more than Abraham, who has played 780 minutes less this season.

Then there is Havertz, sitting on 22 games to Hudson-Odoi's 17.

Lampard was winning with the Cobham Kids last year, winning so much with them that they finished inside the top four without making a signing. While it was a roll of the dice many felt he had no choice but to make, the former Blues midfielder felt vindicated.

And now Lampard must again be brave, must again place faith in those that made his first season in charge such a delight. There will be bruised egos, confidences knocked but right now with pressure building, it is the kids who can get the Blues back on course.

Five of the last six goals have come from academy talents and Abraham has scored three of those.

The most recent came against Fulham, a crucial one turning one point into three, from Mason Mount, in contention to be Chelsea's Player of the Season so far.

Mount went with Lampard to Derby County in 2018-19 and thrived. When his loan ended and his boss was going back with him to Stamford Bridge he was seen as ready to go.

The 22-year-old has his critics, accusing him of getting special treatment from Lampard 'like a son', but he merits every minute he gets. Only Werner has seen more gametime this season and that comes as no surprise.

Chelsea are not in their best moment but while others, like Werner, freeze, Mount's personality, his win-at-all-costs mentality is dragging them to results.

His effort at Fulham was well taken 12 minutes from time. It was a perfect capture of the moment Lampard finds himself in when Mount wheeled off in celebration and club record signing Havertz remained an unused substitute on the bench.

'I thought Mason's all-round performance was fantastic,' Lampard said afterwards. 'He has been very, very good for us last year and this year. His effort, attitude and quality of play was outstanding.'

While Mount's transition into a bonafide leader for this side has appeared seamless, so too has that of full-back Reece James.

The 21-year-old made something of an understated start to life in the first team but is now a threat in attack and reliable in defence.

Both are, when fit, viewed as certain starters in Lampard's Chelsea 2.0.

As they head to Leicester sat seventh, six points off the Foxes and eight points off leaders Manchester United, Lampard is at something of a sliding doors moment.

Missing out on Europe is seen as out of the question given the huge outlay made on players last summer. But Havertz and Werner have not and are not delivering in this moment.

Lampard cannot let a price tag or a bruised ego stop him from unleashing the kids he knows he can trust.

Alan Hansen famously remarked 'you can't win anything with kids' but without them, Chelsea cannot seem to find their feet. It's time to shake it up - starting at Leicester.