Chelsea attacker Mason Mount believes that manager Frank Lampard is picking players on merit, not because they are young and from the academy.
The Blues are finally integrating some of their youth players into the first team, partly due to the transfer ban that was in effect for this summer.
But Mount believes that he and others, including Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Fikoyo Tomori, are there on merit.
"With all of us young boys, he (Lampard) has given us the chance to step up and prove that we are ready," said the midfielder to reporters.
"To me, Tammy [Abraham], Fikayo [Tomori], Reece [James], you're not [just] given it, you have to show you're ready. When the day comes that you're given the chance to play at Stamford Bridge, you have to show you're ready to step up.
"At the start of the season we knew what we had in the squad. We knew the quality. We knew the young players coming through would make the step up.
"It probably starts from when the gaffer first came in. He set goals to be at the top of the League. We knew a lot of people were undermining us because of the ban, so we knew the pressure would be off us a bit. We knew we had the quality, so we set the goals of being up at the top of the table. That was our target."
