Frank Lampard previously made a prediction about a current Chelsea player that now looks like it’s coming to life.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, who’s had two spells in the manager’s dugout at Stamford Bridge, helped out as interim boss towards the end of last season. Therefore, he’s coached a fair chunk of the present squad.
It’s pretty obvious that Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino was inheriting a fairly young and in experienced group when he took charge last summer. Thankfully, some of the youngsters have kicked on and got better as the campaign has progressed.
The likes of Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher have stepped up as senior figures to show maturity well beyond their age. Meanwhile, the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo and Noni Madueke have improved over time.
Frank Lampard prediction about Chelsea player coming true
Lampard made an interesting prediction in July 2023 about Chelsea’s Noni Madueke. It’s one that is starting to happen, too.
Lampard named Madueke as one of the Chelsea youngsters he expects to become a “big player” at Stamford Bridge in the future. If you look at the last couple of months, that’s exactly what has started to take place.
Lampard said via Steven Bartlett’s ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast: “I do think you’ll see players like Enzo Fernandez, {Mykhailo] Mudryk, Madueke. Young players, they’re going to develop and they’re going to be big players for the club.”
Noni Madueke is growing in importance
Aside from an off-day in Chelsea’s recent win over Nottingham Forest, Madueke’s form in the last couple of months has been excellent and much improved from the first half of the season.
The 22-year-old needs to be more consistent and do it for a longer spell before he can be classed as a top-class attacker, but all the signs and potential are starting to come to the fore.
He’s a skilful right-winger that always grabs the eye with pace, trickery and unpredictability. The Englishman is finding better end product and making smarter decisions, though.
Madueke scored and assisted in the same match versus West Ham this month, plus did the same thing against Aston Villa in April.
Match ratings since April
Below are the match ratings from Madueke in Chelsea’s eight Premier League matches since the start of April, provided by WhoScored.
He’s started seven of the last eight and started to make a real impact as an outlet on the right wing.
| Match | Rating |
| Nottingham Forest 2:3 Chelsea (11 May) | 6.36 |
| Chelsea 5:0 West Ham (5 May) | 9.69 |
| Chelsea 2:0 Tottenham (2 May) | 7.74 |
| Aston Villa 2:2 Chelsea (27 April) | 8.71 |
| Arsenal 5:0 Chelsea (23 April) | 6.00 |
| Chelsea 6:0 Everton (15 April) | 7.19 |
| Sheffield United 2:2 Chelsea (7 April) | 7.19 |
| Chelsea 4:3 Manchester United (4 April) | 6.85 |
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