Chelsea youngster Tino Anjorin has set his sights on being the next academy star to cement his place in Frank Lampard's first team squad.
In all, the Chelsea manager has handed eight first team debuts to players from the Blues academy this season, with a summer transfer ban and a confidence to finally unleash the talent waiting in its ranks creating a youth revolution in west London this season.
With the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James starring earlier in the season before Billy Gilmour made quite the statement with performances against Liverpool and Everton last week, there is finally hope for academy products at the club.
Having watched on as the players he grew up with thrived in the first team, Anjorin was handed his Premier League debut in the Everton rout on Sunday and - with a new contract expected to be on the horizon - he now wants to show what he is all about.
“[In the academy] we’re not friends, we’re like brothers. And when we go over to the first team, it’s very welcoming, it’s like a family,” Anjorin told The Independent. “Having players like Tammy and Mason, they know what it’s like being a younger player in the academy.
"They look after you and give you what maybe they never had at my age. Callum [Hudson-Odoi] is only a year above me. It’s relatable, so 100 per cent it makes you more confident knowing the chances are there.
“Just look at Billy Gilmour out there the other day. I’ve played alongside him and seeing him go out like that gives me the confidence to know I can go out there [with the first team] and not be afraid to do what I do.
“I know if I keep working harder I can try and be at their level. I want to try and put myself in the same position that Reece is in now. I want to be scoring, I want to be creating. In five years time, I want to be a leader in the team, helping the younger academy kids to come through, where they can look up to me too and thrive as well.
“I want to try and make a statement to Frank, Jody [Morris] and Joe [Edwards], and show I belong there.”
