Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has heaped praise on striker Tammy Abraham, hailing his improvement following the arrival of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.
One of Europe's top marksmen last season, Werner was seen by many as a likely replacement for Abraham - who ended the previous campaign in underwhelming form - but after a period on the bench, the Englishman has roared back and has showcased some outstanding form.
He has managed five goals and five assists from 13 appearances this year, contributing to at least one goal in each of his seven starts, and Lampard praised Abraham for his response to the threat of Werner.
"The whole point of bringing in players like Timo is not only bringing in quality, but to lift others around him, by linking up on the pitch or by squad competition," Lampard said (via Sky Sports News).
"I have more options in forward areas and I need good reactions. Tammy's shown a brilliant reaction and he needs to be on that edge. All the young players need to be on edge daily to push themselves to try and play in this team. When they play like Tammy is at the moment, he starts making my decisions easier because he's playing so well.
What a run from Timo Werner! ⚡️
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 21, 2020
The Newcastle defence couldn't stop the German who sets up Tammy Abraham to score ? pic.twitter.com/XcHZUmvBpb
"Linking up with people like Timo will obviously help, but first and foremost, it always has to be about the player himself. Tammy should take credit for his start and understand that the next challenge is to remain consistent."
There were rumours that Abraham was unimpressed with Werner's arrival during the summer, and Lampard went on to confess that the striker was unhappy to see himself on the bench behind 24-year-old Werner, but he has remained positive and fought for his spot.
"With Tammy he hasn't really come to see me," the boss added. "I've spoken to him regularly and sometimes you can see in his face, that they're not happy.
"Particularly young players can't hide it always, which is fine, because if he's training well and he's preparing well and he looks great and he doesn't start, I understand why he would be frustrated, and he has been doing that.
"The flip of that is that they need to know that there's competition at a club like Chelsea in forward areas…and it's competitive. So everyone sort of has to take that one."
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Source : 90min